CoinSwitch Kuber Appoints Industry Veteran Ashish Chandra as General Counsel

Ashish Chandra joins CoinSwitch Kuber with over 20 years of experience across internet and tech giants including WhatsApp India, Netflix, and eBay.

CoinSwitch Kuber, India's largest (in terms of user base) and the most-valued crypto unicorn, has appointed Ashish Chandra as the General Counsel. Chandra will play a pivotal role in building a conducive legal framework for the business as crypto-asset adoption continues to grow amidst the mainstreaming excitement.

During the last two decades, Chandra has played an active role in the evolution of the legal and regulatory ecosystem of fintech in India. He is known in the industry for his contribution to the fintech industry from its early days of ATMs and cheque truncation technologies, to building the payment intermediaries and payment wallets, and most recently UPI-based WhatsApp Payments in India.

Most recently, Chandra was the Associate General Counsel of WhatsApp India and was handling its legal, regulatory, and litigation affairs.

Ashish Singhal, Founder, and CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, "At CoinSwitch Kuber, we are building an asset investment platform that regulators and customers can trust. In our endeavour to simplify Crypto investing with customer protection at the center, I am delighted to welcome Ashish Chandra to the team. Ashish's unparalleled experience in launching revolutionary products in the fintech space, coupled with his understanding of regulations and jurisprudence in the overall Indian internet and technology, will further enable us to capture our customers' lifetime value with investment as the use case."

Ashish Chandra, General Counsel, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, "I have been following the Crypto industry developments since 2013. Crypto can play a crucial role in shaping the future of fintech while keeping customer protection at the forefront. I am excited to be part of CoinSwitch Kuber and contribute to our mission of making money equal for all by building a platform that investors and regulators can trust."

CoinSwitch Kuber has raised $260 million in Series C funding from Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in September 2021 to become India's most valued crypto Unicorn at a valuation of $1.9 billion. In October 2021, the company crossed 11 million registered users in a record 15 months and now plans to deliver diverse investment options to its growing customer base.

The Crypto unicorn has been expanding its senior leadership team over the past few months with leadership level appointments, including Krishna Hegde (Senior Vice President - New Initiatives), Sarmad Nazki (CFO), Jayram Krishnan (VP – Product), Nishant Das (Global Head of Talent Acquisition), and Zeeshan Ramlan (Director and Head of HR).

About CoinSwitch Kuber

Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar as a global aggregator of crypto exchanges, CoinSwitch Kuber is India's largest and most valued crypto unicorn with more than 13 million users. Today, users can choose from over 80 coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin. The company started its India operations in June 2020 to make Crypto investing as easy as ordering food online. Backed by reputed investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Paradigm, and Coinbase Venture, CoinSwitch Kuber is creating an investment ecosystem that simplifies investing in Crypto for retail users. For more information, visit: www.coinswitch.co

Coinswitch Kuber Raises $260 Mn in Series C Funding from Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

L to R: Vimal Sagar - Co-founder & COO, Govind Soni - Co-founder & CTO and Ashish Singhal - Co-founder & CEO

• CoinSwitch Kuber raises USD 260 million in Series C funding from Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
• With participation from both its Crypto and Growth funds, a16z is making its first investment in an Indian startup
• Coinbase Ventures joins a16z and existing investors Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global
• CoinSwitch Kuber has reached unicorn status and is now India's largest crypto asset platform, valued at $1.9 billion serving 10 million+ Indian customers

CoinSwitch Kuber, India's fastest growing crypto asset platform, today announced that it has closed a $260+ million Series C funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures and existing investors Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global. a16z is a globally leading venture capital firm known to back bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology while Coinbase is one of the early pioneers of creating a crypto economy and operates one of the world's largest crypto exchanges. 

This investment makes CoinSwitch Kuber a unicorn and the most valuable crypto company in India valued at $1.9 Billion.

CoinSwitch Kuber will utilise the funds for:

• Onboarding 50 million Indians on the CoinSwitch Kuber platform and introduction of new crypto products – Through this investment, CoinSwitch Kuber's primary goal is to onboard 50 million users and make crypto a household name, thereby continuing to dominate the retail crypto market in India. The firm plans to achieve this through the launch of new crypto products/services such as lending, staking among others, to enable users to benefit the most out of this decentralised technology.
• Leadership hiring – CoinSwitch Kuber also aims to acquire the best talent including leaders and experts across Engineering, Product, Data, Growth etc to define the crypto industry in India.
• Addition of new asset classes – The company plans to design ways of simplifying the investment journey of Indians, and in the process offer multiple avenues of investment for them through different products and asset classes.
• Onboarding institutional clients – There is a growing interest amongst institutions to enter the crypto market and CoinSwitch Kuber intends to tap into this opportunity. The crypto leader will facilitate institutional investments by offering them a unique product that serves their end-to-end requirements.
• Launching an Ecosystem Fund – India has a huge talent pool that can build world class products/ protocols in crypto. Currently, a strong support system to back these brilliant minds at work is lacking. As the biggest crypto company in India, CoinSwitch Kuber will be setting up an ecosystem fund to identify and enable the budding talent in the country.
• Crypto awareness & education - Crypto is still at a nascent stage and there isn't enough awareness around it. The firm will utilise these funds to create a knowledge-driven crypto ecosystem in India and provide holistic crypto education to investors, both current and prospective, thus, helping them navigate the market and understand multiple facets of this new asset class.

Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, "CoinSwitch Kuber is on a mission to build wealth for Indians by making crypto more accessible. I believe, simplifying crypto investments for the Indian youth has helped us to stand out. We wanted to remove all the complexities in crypto trading, educate consumers and give them a simplified experience of one-click buy and sell in crypto. We are humbled by the trust shown in CoinSwitch Kuber by two of the biggest names in the global crypto investment arena with Andreessen Horowitz choosing us to be their first investment in India. Coinbase Ventures' investment is also testimony to the confidence they have in CoinSwitch Kuber's business model and the tremendous potential India's crypto space has to offer."

"The CoinSwitch Kuber team has worked round the clock to be the most preferred platform for crypto investors in India. This has helped us to reach the unicorn status in just over 14 months of operations in India. Over the last one year our focus has been to develop a robust product for Indian consumers. Now with this funding, we hope to propel ourselves further on our mission to bring crypto to every household in India."

"We are incredibly excited about the crypto market opportunity in India, and with its breakout growth, CoinSwitch has emerged as the leading retail platform in the country," said David George, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "Ashish and the team have demonstrated strong execution abilities and the ambition to deliver an investment platform for the masses in India."

Started in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar, CoinSwitch was launched as a global aggregator of crypto exchanges. The company launched its India operations in June 2020. CoinSwitch Kuber's previous investors include Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global along with notable angel investors like Kunal Shah. CoinSwitch Kuber has over 10 million users in India with a monthly active user base of over seven million.

About CoinSwitch Kuber

CoinSwitch Kuber is India's fastest-growing and foremost crypto platform with more than 10 million users. Started in 2017 by Ashish Singhal (CEO), Govind Soni (CTO), and Vimal Sagar (COO) as a global aggregator of cryptocurrency exchanges, the startup offers buying of over 80+ coins with 1-click experience. CoinSwitch Kuber began operations in India in June 2020, to make crypto investing as easy as ordering food online. It aims to create an investment ecosystem that simplifies investing in crypto for retail users. The leaders at the firm believe in financial inclusion - that wealth, investment, and financial knowledge are for everyone. The company's mission is to democratise cryptocurrency investment so the everyday man can make his money work for him. The exchange combines transparent pricing with an extensive knowledge hub so users can make informed decisions and thrive in a dynamic digital investment world.

Coinswitch Kuber Onboards 10 Million Users to Become India’s Largest Crypto Platform

Reaches the double-digit user milestone in just over a year

Mumbai, September 09, 2021: CoinSwitch Kuber, India’s fastest growing and foremost crypto platform, today announced that it has hit 10 million registered users this week, to become India’s largest crypto platform. CoinSwitch Kuber has reached the milestone in just 15 months since starting operations in India in June 2020, a testament to the simplicity and convenience the platform provides its users. Out of this, 7 million are active users with a monthly transaction volume of INR 15,138 crores.

The platform is witnessing high volumes from the millennial and GenZ population, with almost 75% of its user base being between the ages of 18 and 35 and the average age being 24. It reaches out to a diverse set of investors in 4000+ cities across the country. Over 55% users on the platform hail from tier 2 and 3 cities, while the remaining 45% are from tier 1 cities. CoinSwitch Kuber has been attracting investors from tier 2 cities such as Patna, Coimbatore, Karnal Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Agra, Amritsar, Bhopal, Ernakulum, etc., and tier 3 cities like Machhagan, Imphal, Mohali, Rohtak among others. This aligns with the company’s aim of making crypto investments as easy as ordering food online.

On CoinSwitch Kuber, the average crypto investment is about INR 9,000 per month per user, with investors in tier 1 cities making larger trades over smaller towns. In tier 1 cities, the average monthly ticket size is about INR 11,600, in tier 2 about INR 6,600 and in tier 3 about ₹3,500 per user.

Ashish Singhal, Co-founder & CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, “In 2020, the crypto industry witnessed a whopping 200-300% month-on-month growth inspite of the raging pandemic. We launched CoinSwitch Kuber in India during the lockdown in June, and onboarded over 1 million users in just six months. The journey from 1 million to 10 million has taken us just 9 months. We aim to accelerate this growth by offering continued simplicity, security, the best rates and experience to our users.”

“CoinSwitch Kuber is on a mission to bring financial freedom to all Indians by democratising crypto investments and eliminating all complexities from the process of crypto buying and selling. CoinSwitch Kuber has educational crypto content on the platform itself, ensuring that both novice and experienced investors make informed decisions. Reaching 10 million users to become the largest and the most preferred crypto platform in India indicates that we are on the right path towards building trust among Indians to achieve our inclusive goals. We want to bring the revolutionary technology of crypto and blockchain to billions in our nation,” he added.

CoinSwitch Kuber began global operations in 2017 and shifted focus to India in June 2020. It is backed by Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital and Paradigm Capital.

About CoinSwitch Kuber

CoinSwitch Kuber is India’s fastest-growing and foremost crypto platform with more than 10 million users. Started in 2017 by Ashish Singhal (CEO), Govind Soni (CTO), and Vimal Sagar (COO) as a global aggregator of cryptocurrency exchanges, the startup offers buying of over 100+ coins at Zero Fee. CoinSwitch Kuber began operations in India in June 2020, to make crypto investing as easy as ordering food online. It aims to create an investment ecosystem that simplifies investing in crypto for retail users. The leaders at the firm believe in financial inclusion - that wealth, investment, and financial knowledge are for everyone. The company’s mission is to democratise cryptocurrency investment so the everyday man can make his money work for him. The exchange combines transparent pricing with an extensive knowledge hub so users can make informed decisions and thrive in a dynamic digital investment world.