Fintech

Mainstream VCs warm up to crypto investments in India

Pratik Bhakta

July 27, 2021 | 4 Min Read

Despite regulatory uncertainty in India’s crypto sector, more venture capital firms are now looking to back domestic crypto startups. The latest is Peter Thiel’s Valar Capital, which is in talks to invest in Vauld

Crypto startups with operations in India, a regulatory grey zone for the sector, finally have the attention of mainstream venture capital funds.

So far, only CoinSwitch Kuber, a Bengalugu-based cryptocurrency exchange platform, had been able to secure mainstream investors such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital. (Tiger invested $25 million in CoinSwitch in April.)

Now Vauld, founded by Indian entrepreneurs Darshan Bathija and Sanju Sony Kurian and headquartered in Singapore, is in advanced talks with Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures for a $20 million series B funding, according to two sources.

Crypto startups in India have typically relied on crypto-focused global funds or the venture funds of global crypto exchanges for growth capital. Two of India’s biggest crypto exchanges, CoinDCX and WazirX, are respectively backed by Coinbase and Binance, which are among the world’s largest crypto platforms.

Read this article for free

In addition, access 50+ archived articles and 3 new articles every month

Got a tip? If you have a lead we should be chasing at The CapTable, write to us at tips@the-captable.com

Join our community of 100,000+ top executives, VCs, entrepreneurs, and brightest student minds

Trusted by the best

Karthik Reddy

Blume Ventures

The CapTable brings a refreshing set of insights for us at the Blume team, highlighting stories that bring together the underlying business and founders with that of investors' journeys with these startups. It's an important perspective that very few bring to startup ecosystem enthusiasts.

Latest Articles

Yusuf Bhai and his ilk will make you smell like a millionaire. But will it last?

In India’s fast-growing perfume trade, street chemists, social-media stars and ambitious entrepreneurs are bottling aspiration for a fraction of the price, challenging global luxury houses and redefining what it means to smell successful.

Team Captable

Why Big Tech’s $70 billion AI push in India runs through conglomerates

From generating power to navigating a complex regulatory landscape, India’s conglomerates offer what Big Tech hyperscalers need for next-generation AI infrastructure. The incumbents in this space are losing out.

Pratap Vikram Singh

Old films, new math: The re-release wave reshaping India’s multiplex economics

Movie re-releases have gone from niche nostalgia events to a strategic revenue lever for PVR INOX, delivering strong footfalls, higher margins, and predictable returns. As fresh content remains uneven, reruns are helping multiplexes smooth volatility and optimise screen use during lean periods.

Sohini Mitter

Inside streaming’s ad pivot: from viewers paying a fee to paying the price

Streaming promised freedom from cable. Instead, viewers are having to contend with ads, upsells, and data tracking, as the industry races to rebuild the exact model viewers paid to escape.

Anuj Suvarna

From Seed to Series A, founders are front-loading capital like never before

Early-stage founders are raising far larger seed and Series A rounds, accepting higher dilution to secure runway, talent, and execution speed, as India’s late-stage funding pipeline remains frozen for a third year.

Nikhil Patwardhan

Convinced that The Captable stories and insights
will give you the edge?

Convinced that The Captable stories
and insights will give you the edge?

Subscribe Now

Stories

Explore