CoinDCX, India's first crypto unicorn, plans IPO 'as soon as' govt allows

Indian regulators have gone back and forth on their stance toward the burgeoning crypto industry.

India’s first cryptocurrency unicorn, CoinDCX, plans to pursue an initial public offering as soon as government regulations allow it, according to its co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal. 

The share sale would be a key vote of confidence for India’s digital asset industry similar to Coinbase Global Inc.’s U.S. listing earlier this year, Khandelwal said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Monday.

“As soon as the government or the situations allow us, we will try for an IPO,” he said. “An IPO gives a legitimacy to the industry, just like the Coinbase IPO gave a lot of confidence in the crypto markets. Similarly we want to instill a similar level of confidence with an IPO of CoinDCX.”

The firm will decide on a “precise timeline” depending on incoming government regulations, Khandelwal said. “We certainly will look at that in order to grow the industry further,” he said.

CoinDCX’s expansion plans come at a critical time for the industry’s future in India as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies. The central bank is clear that it wants all private cryptocurrencies banned while it creates an official digital currency. The government, however, is open to exceptions to promote blockchain technology. 

Back & forth

Indian regulators have gone back and forth on their stance toward the burgeoning industry. The country effectively banned crypto transactions in 2018, but that restriction was struck down by the Supreme Court last year. 

More than half of people surveyed in India are against legalizing cryptocurrencies, preferring instead to tax them like a digital asset held in a foreign country, according to an opinion poll published last week.

The proposed legislation will have a positive impact as it provides clarity for investors and firms such as CoinDCX, Khandelwal said.

“The bill coming up at this juncture signals progress and really acknowledgment from the government side of the growing investor base for crypto,” Khandelwal said. 

CoinDCX raised 6.70 billion rupees ($90 million) this year from investors led by Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group. The funding round valued the firm at $1.1 billion, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sumit Gupta said at the time.

(With assistance from Juliette Saly, Rishaad Salamat and Shruti Srivastava.)