CoinDCX Is Enabling Mass Adoption Of Cryptocurrencies In India The Mumbai-based company is backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Polychain Capital, and claims it saw a 10x increase in user signups, and a 47 per cent growth in trading volumes in the first quarter of this year.
By Debroop Roy
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"The road to mainstream adoption for cryptocurrencies has been a long journey fraught with numerous obstacles, but we are on the right track and are already starting to see the dawn of a new era for the cryptocurrency industry in India," says Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder and chief technology officer at CoinDCX.
A cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in 2018, the journey so far has been anything but easy for Khandelwal and Sumit Gupta, the other co-founder. The same year that they launched, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned the use of banking channels for cryptocurrency transactions, which led to the shutdown of several start-ups in the space.
The ban was quashed by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
According to Khandelwal, that gave cryptocurrencies a new layer of credibility in the country, and an increasing number of people have begun to see it as a legitimate asset class.
He says the company and the Indian cryptocurrency industry were committed to working with the government as well as fostering open dialogue to develop smart and sensible regulations defining the legitimate use and classification of virtual currencies. "We believe that with a clearer legal framework surrounding cryptocurrencies, traditional actors will be more confident in entering the space."
Backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Polychain Capital, Mumbai-based CoinDCX claims it saw a 10x increase in user signups, and a 47 per cent growth in trading volumes in the first quarter of this year.
Focus on Mass Adoption
The 28-year-old entrepreneur says the primary goal has been to create a safe and secure environment for traders and investors, which would lead to a mass adoption for cryptocurrencies.
"Currently our focus remains on greater adoption in India as well as creating access to globally liquidity in India. Hence our plans are focussed on bringing high liquidity through our aggregation model and building a strong suite of products on this massive liquid layer," says Khandelwal.
To attract customers, the company has introduced products such as margin trading, future contracts as well as a highly liquid fiat to crypto conversion tool.
On profitability, he says it has been a distant second goal given it is extremely necessary that more and more people begin to adopt cryptocurrencies.
Path For Blockchain
As one of the early adopters of the much-hyped blockchain technology in India, Khandelwal believes that despite support from the government and the industry at large, a lot still needs to be done.
"Investments in education, legal and regulatory frameworks as well as investments in blockchain technology from public as well as private players is something the industry still seeks," he says.