CoinDCX Expands Globally by Acquiring BitOasis

CoinDCX, a major player in India’s cryptocurrency exchange market, is making international strides by acquiring BitOasis, a prominent digital asset trading platform in the Middle East and North Africa, as announced on Wednesday by both organizations.

The startup, headquartered in Bengaluru, announced the integration of BitOasis’s personnel into CoinDCX, while ensuring the original executive team remains at the helm of the exchange, which facilitates the trading of over 60 cryptocurrency tokens. Furthermore, BitOasis is set to maintain its unique brand identity, as per CoinDCX’s communication with TechCrunch.

BitOasis, domiciled in Dubai, has raised more than $40 million throughout its eight years of operation. Though the financial specifics of the acquisition were not revealed, a representative for CoinDCX disclosed to TechCrunch that BitOasis’s investors would be compensated with CoinDCX equity, highlighting the transaction as beneficial for investors of BitOasis.

This strategic move unfolds as India continues to exhibit a challenging regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, with its central bank exerting pressure on financial institutions to limit associations with cryptocurrency enterprises. This unfriendly regulatory atmosphere in India, marked by a heavy 30% taxation on profits from digital assets, persists.

Faced with a tough regulatory environment and a market downturn, leading crypto platforms in India are exploring alternative avenues to sustain their growth. CoinDCX, in particular, initiated a decentralized exchange in 2022 and is actively seeking to broaden its reach.

Meanwhile, the company behind CoinSwitch Kuber—CoinDCX’s competing unicorn crypto exchange in India—has expanded its portfolio to include stock and mutual fund investments over the last year.

CoinDCX, with financial backing from B Capital, Coinbase, Pantera, and Steadview, achieved a valuation of $2.1 billion following a funding round in 2022.

The restriction of Binance and several other global crypto exchanges by India for not adhering to local anti-money laundering regulations has inadvertently favored local exchanges. Many of these barred exchanges, including Binance, are now seeking to align with Indian regulatory standards, with plans to re-enter the Indian market in the near future.

Boasting quarterly trading volumes exceeding $800 million, CoinDCX aspires to establish itself as the foremost crypto trading platform globally, as conveyed by Co-founder and CEO Sumit Gupta. The expansion into the MENA region is a critical element of their strategy, leveraging the area’s developed market and its population’s growing fascination with crypto investments.

Since its inception in 2016, BitOasis has successfully handled $6 billion in trading volume.