Coinbase said it is investing in Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX to expand its presence in India and the Middle East.
Coinbase Invests in CoinDCX, Expanding into India & Middle East Markets
On October 15, leading US exchange Coinbase officially announced a new investment in CoinDCX , one of India's largest crypto exchanges, to expand its presence in India and the Middle East. The deal values CoinDCX at $2.45 billion and is currently awaiting regulatory approval.
There are 100M+ crypto owners in India and the Middle East. And that's growing, fast.
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) October 15, 2025
We're excited to expand our presence in these regions through a new investment into India's leading exchange, @CoinDCX . pic.twitter.com/4anCrwiK5o
Notably, analysts assess this as a step following the “partner to penetrate” model, which means cooperating with a local partner with a solid legal foundation, instead of penetrating a market with many barriers like India on its own, which has many potential regulatory risks.
Coinbase's acquisition of CoinDCX
- Coinbase's investment in CoinDCX is positioned as not just a financial deal, but a strategic move to build a "regional corridor" connecting India and the Middle East - the two most prominent markets in the world in terms of crypto development speed.
- According to Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase:
“India and the Middle East are witnessing the fastest pace of technology adoption, with over 100 million crypto users. These will be two key hubs in Coinbase’s global strategy.”
There's rapid tech adoption in India and the Middle East, and already 100M+ crypto holders.
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) October 15, 2025
Excited to do more in these markets and help to keep accelerated adoption.
Coinbase is going global. https://t.co/u8jgLJivuf
- On CoinDCX's side, co-founder and CEO Sumit Gupta described this as “a strategic alliance of minds” – not only working towards the same goals, but also Chia the way to build: based on transparency, compliance and trust.
- Sharing the same view, Shan Aggarwal, Director of Business Development Coinbase, commented:
“India and the Middle East are emerging as the fastest growing regions in the world for crypto. CoinDCX is a solid business with strong scale and scalability.”
- Previously, Coinbase had tried to enter the Indian market in 2022, but faced legal barriers from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This time, instead of going it alone, Coinbase chose to cooperate with a local partner - a direction that experts consider to be more realistic and sustainable.
- Expert Sudhakar Lakshmanaraja commented:
“This paves the way for many other domestic-foreign cooperation models in the trading floor sector. It allows foreign Capital to participate more deeply without having a direct presence.”
CoinDCX – “the gem” in the Indian market
- Launched in 2018, CoinDCX currently has more than 20.4 million users, annual volume of 165 billion USD, annual revenue of 141 million USD and custody assets exceeding 1.2 billion USD (as of July 2025).
- Despite suffering a $44 million hack loss in July, the company covered all losses from its reserves and established a $6 million investor protection fund , thereby strengthening its reputation and risk management capabilities.
- CEO Sumit Gupta affirmed:
“We Chia with Coinbase not only the vision for crypto, but also the way it is done, putting transparency and compliance first.”
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