CoinDCX, India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding internationally with the acquisition of BitOasis, a digital asset platform in the Middle East and North Africa, the companies announced on Wednesday.
The Bengaluru-based startup said the BitOasis team is joining CoinDCX, with the original management continuing to run the exchange, which offers trading on over 60 tokens. BitOasis will also retain its brand, CoinDCX told TechCrunch.
Dubai-based BitOasis has raised more than $40 million in funding in its eight-year history. The two companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but a CoinDCX spokesperson told TechCrunch that BitOasis investors will receive equity in CoinDCX, adding that the deal is profitable for BitOasis backers.
The expansion comes in the middle a prolonged period of regulatory hostility towards cryptocurrencies in India, with the local central bank keep pressure on other lenders to avoid doing business with cryptocurrency companies. India remains one of the least friendly jurisdictions for cryptocurrency traders, impose a 30% tax on gains from digital assets.
The regulatory environment, coupled with a slowdown in the broader market, has forced major cryptocurrency companies in India to find alternative ways to maintain growth. CoinDCX launched a decentralized exchange in 2022 and worked actively to expand it.
CoinSwitch’s parent company Kuber, India other unicorn crypto exchangehas diversified its offerings to include stock and mutual fund investments over the past year. CoinDCX — backed by Steadview, Pantera, B Capital and Coinbase — has been valued at $2.1 billion in a financing round in 2022.
Local trade benefited from India Binance and over half of other international crypto exchanges banned This year, Indian authorities have arrested trading companies for failing to comply with local anti-money laundering rules. Several of these platforms, including Binance, are now in contact with Indian authorities and working on their compliance. They are expected to resume operations in India in the coming weeks.
CoinDCX, which handles over $800 million in trading volumes each quarter, aims to become the “go-to trading platform for cryptocurrencies worldwide,” Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX, said in a statement. “Our expansion strategy begins with the MENA region, capitalizing on its mature market and the population’s keen interest in crypto investments.”
BitOasis said it has processed $6 billion in transaction volume since its inception in 2016.
