While the government debates the cryptocurrency bill in the Winter Session of Parliament, that began on November 29, CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency exchange in India, revealed its plans to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as the government allows it, though it also clarified that the plans were not immediate.
“We would like to reiterate that as any growing company aspires to take an IPO route in due course. We at CoinDCX also have similar aspirations. Having said that, there is no definitive route or clause as to when we would go ahead with this plan. Of course, a well-defined regulatory process will benefit not only us but the entire ecosystem in their growth strategy," CoinDCX spokesperson said, according to a Livemint report.
Earlier, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, CoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal said, “As soon as the government or the situations allow us, we will try for an IPO… An IPO gives legitimacy to the industry, just like the Coinbase IPO gave a lot of confidence in the crypto markets. We want to instil a similar level of confidence with an IPO of CoinDCX,”
Khandelwal added that the exchange wants to instil confidence in the industry through its IPO, the same way Coinbase did with its listing.
CoinDCX exchange became a unicorn (startups with a valuation of at least $1 billion) after a $90 million funding round in August 2021. It got funding from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group, Coinbase, Polychain Capital, Block.one and Jump Capital, according to coindesk.com, a US-based media outlet. CoinDCX claims to have more than 4 million active users.
“IPOs are a major event in a startup's lifecycle. A well-defined regulatory framework for crypto assets will ensure more Indian crypto unicorns in the coming years. India is well-poised to be a global blockchain and crypto hub,” says Sharat Chandra, a blockchain and emerging tech evangelist.
Getting a nod from the government may not be that simple but the ongoing debate on the cryptocurrency bill in Parliament may provide some clarity to the cryptocurrency industry on the way forward.
