Coinbase gets nod from Indian regulators to acquire CoinDCX stake

cointelegraphPublished on 2025-12-17Last updated on 2025-12-17

Abstract

The Competition Commission of India has approved Coinbase's acquisition of a minority stake in cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX. The approval, confirmed by Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal, deepens the partnership between the two platforms. Neither the regulatory notice nor Grewal disclosed the exact stake percentage. Earlier reports indicated Coinbase planned to invest with a post-money valuation of about $2.4 billion, while denying rumors of a full $1 billion acquisition. Separately, Coinbase is reportedly planning to reintroduce fiat on-ramps for Indian users in 2026, marking its return to the Indian market after halting services in 2023. India, with over 1.4 billion people, is considered a major crypto market with an estimated 100 million users.

The Competition Commission of India, the regulatory body responsible for promoting fair competition in the country, has approved Coinbase acquiring a minority stake in cryptocurrency platform CoinDCX.

In a Tuesday notice, the regulator said it had approved Coinbase Global’s minority stake acquisition in DCX Global Limited, the company behind CoinDCX. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal confirmed the news in a Wednesday X post, saying it deepened the exchange’s “long-term partnership with one of India’s most established and trusted digital asset platforms.”

Neither the regulatory announcement nor Grewal’s post included information about the percentage of Coinbase’s stake in the crypto exchange. Cointelegraph reached out to a Coinbase spokesperson for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

The regulatory approval followed an October notice that Coinbase was planning to invest in CoinDCX with a post-money valuation of about $2.4 billion. Coinbase reported at the time that CoinDCX had about $141 million in annual revenue as of July, but denied earlier reports that it was planning to purchase the company outright for $1 billion.

Related: CoinDCX report shows Indian users moving to broader crypto portfolios in 2025

Coinbase is also returning to the Indian market

According to reports from last week, the US-based crypto exchange was planning to roll out fiat on-ramps to India-based users starting in 2026. The move, if confirmed, would mark Coinbase’s return to India more than two years after it halted services in September 2023.

With the largest population in the world, exceeding 1.4 billion, India represents a substantial market for the cryptocurrency industry. Estimates vary, but many in the industry have reported that there are more than 100 million crypto users in the country.

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