TLDR
- CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta denied reports that Coinbase was acquiring his company for $1 billion
- Indian media outlet Mint reported the acquisition talks were in advanced stages
- Gupta said CoinDCX is focused on building in India and not for sale
- The denial comes 11 days after CoinDCX suffered a $44.2 million hack
- Coinbase has been actively acquiring companies, including a recent $2.9 billion Deribit purchase
The CEO of Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has publicly denied reports that his company is in acquisition talks with Coinbase. Sumit Gupta dismissed the claims on social media platform X on Tuesday.
Indian news outlet Mint reported on Monday that Coinbase was in advanced discussions to acquire CoinDCX for nearly $1 billion. The report cited two unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Heads down and super focused on Building. That’s what matters and takes us closer to our mission for India to be a global web3 superpower. 💪
Building from India 🇮🇳 for the World 🌍
— Sumit Gupta (CoinDCX) (@smtgpt) July 29, 2025
Gupta responded directly to these reports in his X post. He wrote that people should ignore the rumors and stated that CoinDCX is focused on building for India’s crypto market.
“CoinDCX is ‘super focused’ on building for India’s crypto story and not up for sale,” Gupta wrote. He promised to share more details later but wanted to clarify the situation immediately.
A Coinbase spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the acquisition rumors when contacted by Cointelegraph. The spokesperson said the company wouldn’t discuss rumors or speculation.
The Coinbase representative did mention the company’s mission to increase economic freedom worldwide. They said Coinbase constantly explores opportunities to build, buy, partner and invest globally.
Recent Security Breach at CoinDCX
The acquisition denial comes just 11 days after CoinDCX experienced a major security breach. On July 18, hackers stole $44.2 million from the exchange through a compromised operational wallet.
The attackers breached one of CoinDCX’s internal accounts used for liquidity provisions with another exchange. They accomplished this through a server breach and drained the wallet within minutes.
Gupta assured users that no customer funds were affected by the hack. He said CoinDCX’s security setup protected all user deposits during the incident.
The exchange has since launched a recovery bounty program to help trace the stolen funds. White hat hackers can earn up to 25% of any recovered funds they help retrieve.
CoinDCX announced this program last week as part of its efforts to recover the stolen cryptocurrency. The bounty system incentivizes security researchers to assist in tracking down the missing funds.
Coinbase’s Expansion Strategy
Coinbase has been expanding its presence in international markets, including India. The company registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2024.
This registration could signal Coinbase’s intention to expand operations in India. India represents the world’s most populous country and a growing cryptocurrency market.
Coinbase has also been actively pursuing acquisitions as part of its growth strategy. In May, the company completed a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of derivatives platform Deribit.
Earlier this month, Coinbase acquired Liquifi, a token-management platform. The platform serves early-stage blockchain builders and developers.
These acquisitions position Coinbase as a leader in various crypto market segments. The Deribit purchase particularly strengthens its derivatives trading capabilities.
CoinDCX remains focused on the Indian market following Gupta’s denial of the acquisition reports. The company continues operations despite the recent security breach and recovery efforts.
