'We've Seen 16X Increase In New User Sign-Ups YoY' Neeraj Khandelwal, Co-Founder, CoinDCX
How did you get the idea to start the cryptocurrency exchange platform at the same time when Indian authorities were hard on the crypto industry? How was the journey so far?
We always had in our mind that we should do something for India which would be beneficial to our customers. We wanted to provide access to users on a new age asset class like crypto. We started CoinDCX in 2018, intending to provide a user-friendly experience where users can access a wide range of financial products and services backed by industry-leading security processes and insurance. Since our inception, our user base has grown above 4 million. Recently we have been announced as the first Indian cryptocurrency exchange to enter the unicorn club with a $90 million (Rs 668-crore) series-C funding round.
Tell me about the challenge faced by the firm at the time of launching CoinDCX?
When we launched CoinDCX in April 2018, RBI issued a notice in the same month prohibiting banks and NBFCs from providing banking services to crypto companies, exchanges, and its customers dealing with crypto. All of India's major baking companies have ceased operations. Following this, the Honourable Supreme Court issued a ruling on 4th March 2020, stating that the central bank has taken an anti-virtual currency stance "without any rational basis" and "set aside RBI's virtual ban on cryptocurrencies, allowing banks and financial institutions to handle cryptocurrency trade. The Centre stated in March 2021 that it is willing to consider and investigate emerging technologies, including cryptocurrency, for the sake of enhancing governance. The cabinet is currently considering the bill.
CoinDCX journey of making Cryptocurrency mainstream in India? What is the way forward?
While we are witnessing steady growth in the crypto industry, there is an untapped market with great potential. We had identified the need to create awareness about cryptocurrency & blockchain among the public; thus, we launched DCX Learn last year. It is an EdTech platform for those who want to learn about cryptocurrency and blockchain. The edu-platform is developed to play a crucial role in leading a PAN-India movement towards borderless financial services and digital asset adoption. This is in line with our aim to onboard 50 million investors in a few years. We strongly believe that having a better understanding of crypto can help make informed decisions and reap the benefits of investing in digital assets. Having this thought process in mind, we developed DCX Learn to guide people through numerous informative digital content such as articles, online courses, interactive lectures, and much more.
We also invested $1.3M in the education initiative 'TryCrypto' to make blockchain and cryptocurrency more accessible to mainstream users and provide an easy investment experience.
We recently launched a sign language learning module on cryptocurrency free for all learning modules in sign language for the differently abled community.
We have received great response towards our educational initiatives and will continue to promote the same for all as we firmly believe that this will result in more Indians embracing crypto assets as an investment class. At CoinDCX, we have always aimed to create value for our existing and potential users, and through our educational initiatives among others we believe that we have been successful in doing so.
Tell us about the math behind CoinDCX's 'Bitcoin-Liye-Kya' campaign?
#BitcoinLiyaKya is a digital campaign in line with the direction to raise awareness about crypto as an asset class with Bitcoin leading the charge. As part of our campaign, we wanted to encourage people to talk about crypto in a good light. In this campaign, we offered coupon codes of Rs.100 worth of bitcoins to everyone who signs on the exchange for the first time. Additionally, every week, a few lucky users had a chance to win a portfolio of 1 Bitcoin worth nearly $50,000 at that time. The digital campaign is to raise curiosity among prospective new users. “With #BitcoinLiyaKya campaign, we aim to highlight the growing trend of cryptocurrency investment in India. Investing in cryptocurrencies has become one of the most popular wealth creation instruments for millennials. At CoinDCX, we have been empowering investors in making safe & secure investments in popular crypto assets like Bitcoin since our inception in 2018. CoinDCX (earlier known as CoinDCX GO) app was launched to facilitate the same purpose. We aim to onboard new investors by leveraging the virtues of the simple, safe, and compliant crypto ecosystem through this campaign and match towards building an investor community of 50 million Indians soon.
How did Covid 19 impact CoinDCX and the overall Indian crypto Market?
Since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, the Indian crypto market has grown rapidly, with a noticeable shift in investing patterns. Cryptocurrency trading has become more popular among Indians aged 25 to 40. We've also seen an increase in new user registrations and increased trade volumes. At CoinDCX, we've seen a 16x increase in new user sign-ups year over year. A lot will depend on the creation of a regulatory framework in the future.
What’s the outlook for the cryptocurrency market in India?
The Indian Crypto industry is at a nascent stage, but it is picking up momentum and creating many job opportunities across the software and development industry. Over the last few years, the Indian cryptocurrency market has grown exponentially as more Indians have taken interest in these emerging investment possibilities and perceived them to be a significant asset class.
Any advice for newbies who have just started trading in crypto? What specifically do they need to keep in mind while trading?
Cryptocurrency is emerging as a popular investment vehicle in the past few years and has thrown open a world of opportunities for all types of investors. We are driving our campaign to educate new /prospective investors through our education platform DCXLearn and the marketing initiative #TryCryptoMovement. Before making a new investment, investors should assess the top cryptocurrencies. Despite the lure of certain popular and lower denomination cryptocurrencies, it would be wise to consider only those with a solid ecosystem. Lastly, investors should invest at important support levels and exercise an appropriate stop-loss for all trades. While the overall outlook remains positive for most cryptocurrencies, investors should exercise caution considering the near-term volatility in prices driven by news emanating from markets.
What next can be expected? Are you working on new projects?
We recently launched a course on Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency made for the differently abled community, who communicate using the Indian Sign Language. The idea is to ensure all-around inclusivity in the field of learning irrespective of the circumstances, location, or any other influencing factor. Ease of access and learning should be available to all, which is why this is just the beginning for us. We will be introducing courses around crypto in other languages. We are also working on rolling out new features on our CoinDCX investment app, in coming months.
