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 will join CoinDCX, with the original leadership continuing to run the exchange, which offers trading in more than 60 tokens. BitOasis will also retain its branding, CoinDCX told TechCrunch.
Dubai-based BitOasis has secured over $40 million in funding over its eight-year history. The 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 was a win-win for BitOasis backers.
The expansion comes amid a long period of regulatory hostility toward cryptocurrencies in India, with the local central bank continuing to pressure other lenders to avoid doing business with crypto firms. India remains one of the least friendly jurisdictions for crypto traders, imposing a 30% tax on gains from digital assets.
The regulatory environment, coupled with the slowdown in the broader market, has forced major crypto companies in India to find other ways to sustain their growth. CoinDCX launched a decentralized exchange in 2022 and is aggressively expanding it.
The parent company of CoinSwitch Kuber, another Indian crypto exchange, has diversified its offerings to include equity and mutual fund investments over the past year. CoinDCX — backed by Steadview, Pantera, B Capital, and Coinbase — was valued at $2.1 billion in a 2022 funding round.
Local exchanges have benefited from India’s ban on Binance and more than half of other international cryptocurrency exchanges this year for failing to comply with local anti-money laundering rules. Many of these exchanges, including Binance, are now in contact with Indian authorities and working to comply. They are expected to resume operations in India in the coming weeks.
“CoinDCX, which processes over $800 million in trading volumes each quarter, aims to become the preferred cryptocurrency trading platform worldwide. Our expansion strategy starts with the Middle East and North Africa region, capitalizing on its mature market and strong population interest in investing in cryptocurrencies,” Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX, said in a statement.
BitOasis said it has processed $6 billion in trading volume since its founding in 2016.