Sequoia-backed CoinSwitch Kuber raises $25 million at a valuation of $500 million

• The funding round was led by US-based Tiger Global Management.
• Prior to this, CoinSwitch had raised $15 million in funding from Sequoia, Kunal Shah, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital.
• The investment comes at a time when the Indian government is preparing to introduce a bill to ban cryptocurrencies.

Bangalore-based crypto exchange platform CoinSwitch Kuber, which allows individuals to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, has raised $25 million (about Rs 187 crore) in a Series B funding round led by US-based Tiger Global Management. With this round, the startup valuation now stands at $500 million.

CoinSwitch Kuber will deploy the funds in strengthening technology, brand building, hiring talent across technology, operations, marketing, product, and compliance teams to fuel growth, the statement said. The startup also plans to invest heavily in technology to boost product performance and platform security.

It claims to have 4.5 million users on its platform and aims to add over 10 million users by the end of 2021, it said. Prior to this round, The startup had raised $15 million in a Series A funding round from Kunal Shah (CRED), Sequoia Capital India, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital.

Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar, Bitcipher Labs LLP, which owns and operates CoinSwitch Kuber, a crypto exchange platform that allows individuals to start investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, etc.

Looking at the possibility of a crypto ban, The startup is planning to expand into other asset classes. According to Ashish Singhal, CoinSwitch has an annual revenue of about $50 million, aiming to reach $100 million in revenue this year. For FY-21, the startup reported $8 million in profit.

“We want to simplify crypto investing for Indians, and also educate them about the asset class. There have been a lot of doubts about cryptocurrencies. We will invest in educating investors and think there is an opportunity for us to become the leading crypto startup in India,” said Ashish Singhal.

Scott Shleifer, Partner at Tiger Global, said, "CoinSwitch is well-positioned to capture the tremendous growing interest in crypto among retail investors. We are excited to partner with Coinswitch as they innovate in this emerging asset class.”

According to the reports, Since March 2020, India has seen a significant boost in cryptocurrencies trading volumes, signaling the country’s massive appetite for cryptos, thereby attracting global investors like Tiger Global and Sequoia to invest in the homegrown crypto exchange platforms.

CoinSwitch Kuber counts CoinDCX, WazirX, BuyUCoin, ZebPay, and Giottus as competitors. In December last year, CoinDCX had raised Rs 100 crore in funding from Block.one, DG, Jump Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, others.

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