IGI Logo

Cryptocurrencies are waiting to explode in India and Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and CEO of leading crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber, aims to onboard at least 50 million users from India in the next two years, educating them around crypto investments and helping them create wealth.

With more than 15 million users in India, CoinSwitch Kuber has become a new unicorn, and the most valuable crypto company in the country valued at $1.9 billion.

"The past 18-20 months in the Covid pandemic has taught most of us the value of money. We are here not only to solve the crypto problems for the Indian investors, but also solve the wealth management issue, with crypto being a key financial asset in their portfolio," Singhal told IANS in an interaction.

Started in 2017 by Singhal, Govind Soni and Vimal Sagar, CoinSwitch launched its India operations in June 2020.

The exchange has witnessed tremendous growth, at a time when the industry eagerly awaits the crypto bill (slated to be discussed during the Parliament's winter session) so the stakeholders can move forward with clarity.

The cryptocurrency market has been growing exponentially and is expected to reach up to $241 million by 2030 in India and $2.3 billion by 2026 worldwide. The cryptotech sector has the potential to create more than 8 lakh jobs by 2030, up from nearly 50,000 employed currently.

"We want to remove all the complexities in crypto trading, educate the consumers and give them a simplified experience of one-click buy and sell in crypto," Singhal said.

"We are in India to work together with the government, to align with its vision, and together help create regulations that are beneficial for the industry, especially those innovating around crypto and Blockchain technology," he added.

India has seen a spurt in the popularity of crypto exchanges and platforms in recent months. Within 15 months of commencing operations in India, CoinSwitch Kuber is now India's largest crypto exchange.

According to Singhal, the next Big Tech firm is going to come from India, based on Web 3.0 and Blockchain.

"We are constantly adding new users. More than 55 per cent of our users are coming from Tier 2 and 3 cities. People from more than 4,000 cities are investing on our platform. Now, the aim is to create the right sets of answers for investors to understand this industry better," said Singhal.

Earlier this month, CoinSwitch Kuber raised over $260 million in its Series C funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures and existing investors. With this, American venture capital firm a16z made its first investment in an Indian unicorn.

With new funds, it aims to acquire the best talent, including leaders and experts across engineering, product, data, and growth to define the crypto industry in India.

"I think we have solved the investment part as we have been a platform for people to come and join. Now, we have to solve the other part which is how to make crypto mainstream. Even if you don't have to invest in crypto, you should know about crypto because that is where the world is moving," Singhal told IANS.

CoinSwitch Kuber currently offers buying of over 80 digital coins with one-click experience.

"The crypto investment is much more than just Bitcoin, as 95 per cent of those coming onto our platform are buying Bitcoin. We are telling the investors that there is a whole new world out there which needs to be explored, with the right kind of education. Lot of people who join our platform realise that the world of crypto is much bigger, and this is what we are teaching them," Singhal said.