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Coinbase deepens India presence after approval of CoinDCX deal
The approval follows a challenging year for CoinDCX which included a significant security breach, though customer funds remained safe.
Updated Dec 18, 2025, 8:05 a.m. Published Dec 18, 2025, 8:01 a.m.
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What to know:
- India's competition regulator has approved Coinbase's acquisition of a minority stake in CoinDCX, enhancing its presence in the Indian crypto market.
- The approval follows a challenging year for CoinDCX, including a significant security breach, though customer funds remained safe.
- Coinbase is renewing its focus on India, resuming user registrations and planning to introduce a rupee on-ramp in 2026.
India’s competition regulator has approved Coinbase’s plan to acquire a minority stake in CoinDCX, allowing the U.S.-based exchange to deepen its exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared the transaction on Wednesday, giving Coinbase the green light to invest in DCX Global Limited, the parent company of CoinDCX.
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C-2025/10/1342: Commission approves the proposed combination involving acquisition of minority shareholding in DCX Global Limited by Coinbase Global Inc. pic.twitter.com/IG6phSKsfq
— CCI (@CCI_India) December 16, 2025
Coinbase has been an investor in CoinDCX since 2020. The latest capital infusion signals a renewed commitment to India after the exchange reopened user registrations in the country last week following a two-year hiatus.
The approval follows Coinbase’s mid-October disclosure of the investment and caps a volatile year for CoinDCX. In July, the exchange disclosed a $44.2 million security breach involving one of its wallets, though customer funds were not affected.
Coinbase’s renewed push into India comes as it looks to rebuild its local footprint. The exchange resumed onboarding last week with crypto-to-crypto trading and plans to roll out a rupee on-ramp in 2026, according to Asia-Pacific director John O’Loghlen.
India remains a complex market for crypto firms due to high transaction taxes and regulatory uncertainty, but the CCI’s approval suggests policymakers are willing to allow global players a role in the country’s digital asset ecosystem under defined oversight.
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