Coinbase in talks to acquire CoinDCX

Co may be valued less than $1 bn, down from its $2.2 bn peak

- Pankaj Mishra

US cryptocurrency giant Coinbase is in advanced discussions to acquire India's CoinDCX as the local crypto exchange recovers from a $44 million hack, two people aware of the development said.

A deal may value CoinDCX, one of India's largest crypto exchanges, at less than a billion dollars, sharply below its peak valuation of $2.2 billion three years ago, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. If completed, the acquisition would mark a deeper push by Coinbase into India, where it already owns stakes in CoinDCX and rival CoinSwitch.

"Coinbase sees this as a long-term strategic bet," one of the two people cited above said. "Buying CoinDCX at this discounted valuation is essentially a low-cost gamblepositioning itself for potential upside if India's crypto market eventually matures." Coinbase declined to comment specifically on the acquisition talks.

"We have a bold mission to increase economic freedom globally, and continuously explore opportunities around the world to build, buy, partner, and invest to accelerate our roadmap," a spokesperson said in response to a query.

A second option under consideration involves combining Coinbase's stakes in both CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, India's most valuable crypto exchange. While no formal talks are underway, the person cited above said a merger of the two portfolio companies "is likely, but not yet on the table." CoinSwitch said it is not in active talks about a merger with CoinDCX.

"We don't have active conversations in this regard at this time," co-founder Ashish Singhal said. "We believe competition is good and it will ultimately benefit users." Coinbase, which registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit in March this year, is preparing to roll out retail crypto trading in the country.