Amid all the Bitcoin hype, another Indian cryptocurrency startup CoinSwitch Kuber gets $15 million in funding

  • The startup has raised $15 million from global fintech and crypto investor Ribbit Capital and San-Francisco based crypto-focused investment firm, Paradigm, which is founded by Coinbase founders.
  • It has been a very interesting year for Bitcoin enthusiasts, with the cryptocurrency asset clocking in a massive 300% rally in 12 months to scale $42,000 on January 8, before crashing again.
  • CoinSwitch Kuber’s funding joins the list of Indian crypto firms, Vauld and CoinDCX, which have recently raised funding.

It has been a very interesting year for Bitcoin enthusiasts, with the cryptocurrency asset clocking in a massive 300% rally in 12 months to scale $42,000 on January 8, before crashing to its current value of $33,159. But despite its volatile ride, the largest cryptocurrency continues to garner interest.

And that has meant cryptocurrency startups too have caught investors’ attention. CoinSwitch Kuber, a cryptocurrency investment platform, is the latest startup to raise $15 million from Ribbit Capital and San-Francisco based crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm.

This marks Ribbit Capital’s first investment in a cryptocurrency firm in India.

Meanwhile, Paradigm, founded by Matt Huang and Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S, too has its eyes set on the Indian market.

“While the crypto landscape in India remains nascent, it has been an exciting past 12 months and over time we believe India could be one of the largest global crypto markets. Ashish and the CoinSwitch team have shown tremendous resilience and strong execution in a challenging market, giving us confidence in their potential to build a market leader in the years to come,” said Matt Huang, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Paradigm and Arjun Balaji, Investment Partner at Paradigm in a statement.

The Series A funding round also saw participation from Sequoia Capital India and CRED founder Kunal Shah.

Advertisement


CoinSwitch Kuber’s funding joins the list of Indian crypto firms that have recently raised funding.

Startup Funding amount Investors
Vauld $2 million Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, CMT digital, Gumi Cryptos Capital, LuneX Ventures, Robert Leshner (CEO of Compound Finance) and Tarun Chaitra’s Robot Ventures, CoinShares, Better Capital, New Form Capital, Jesus Rodrigues (the CEO of IntoTheBlock) and others.
CoinDCX $13.9 million Block.one, Jump Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Mehta Ventures and Alex Pack.

“We aim to double down on the Indian market, and are targeting a ten times growth in our user base by the end of the year. To this end, we will invest in product and technology and also run a slew of awareness initiatives to educate investors about the potential of crypto as an emerging asset class,” said Ashish Singhal, CEO and Co-founder, CoinSwitch Kuber.

SEE ALSO:
Here’s why BYJU’S may want to spend a billion dollars on physical coaching centres
India needs Elon Musk’s Tesla as well as local electric cars to compete⁠ — here’s what Finance Minister’s Budget 2021 may do