CoinDCX, CEO, Sumit Gupta has squashed rumors of a potential takeover deal with Coinbase. In a statement on his official X page on Tuesday, Gupta stressed that the exchange isn’t for sale.
While responding to the allegations, Gupta urged all community members to “ignore the rumors”, clarifying that the leadership of CoinDCX is committed to building for the advancement of India’s crypto space. Correspondingly, the CEO added that the exchange will send more details to address the rumors.
Reports indicated that the India-based crypto exchange’s loss of $44 million to a cyber breach attracted Coinbase’s attention. As reported, Coinbase is currently pushing its expansion efforts and is eyeing acquiring CoinDCX for a cheap fee compared to its peak valuation of $2.2 billion due to the attack.
The move, according to speculations, is an attempt by Coinbase to re-enter the Indian cryptocurrency hub. By that, the firm is actively seeking to strengthen its presence across various regions.
At the moment, Coinbase hasn’t responded to the allegations. However, it is worth mentioning that Coinbase already holds a minor stake in CoinDCX and another top cryptocurrency exchange in India, CoinSwitch.
Recall that early this month, hackers stole $44 million from CoinDCX. Generating serious controversy, users and community members alike bemoaned the delayed confirmation of the attack by the exchange and some of its security practices.
So far, the exchange has triggered some reserves to ensure that users’ funds are intact while continuing operation as normal. As part of its recovery efforts, CoinDCX has launched a recovery bounty program offering 25% of the stolen funds to white hat hackers.
India’s crypto hub is on the verge of a massive setback
Following the recent attack on CoinDCX, the Indian cryptocurrency space has suffered a significant setback. In the space of 12 months, two of the biggest exchanges in the country, WazirX and CoinDCX both fell victim to a cyber breach.
The attacks claimed about $300 million worth of users’ deposits from the two exchanges. Likewise, high taxation and lack of clear-cut regulation have further discouraged investors much to the struggles of cryptocurrency exchanges in India.
Recently, CoinSwitch co-founder, Ashish Singhal, decried how government policies have kept the growth of the crypto sector at bay. He complained about how the lack of a regulatory framework, tax, and poor communication from government agencies made things difficult for crypto exchanges to operate in India.
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