CoinDCX CEO Denies Acquisition Talks with Coinbase Amid Speculation

Sumit Gupta, CEO of Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, has firmly denied reports that the company is in talks to be acquired by U.S.-based crypto giant Coinbase. 

The clarification comes after Indian financial news outlet Mint published a report on Monday claiming that Coinbase was in “advanced discussions” to purchase the Indian exchange for nearly $1 billion, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Taking to social platform X on Tuesday, Gupta wrote, “Ignore the rumours! CoinDCX is ‘super focused’ on building for India’s crypto story and not up for sale. Will share more later but just wanted to clarify this upfront!”

Before Gupta’s public response, a Coinbase spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company does not comment on “rumors or speculation,” but reiterated its global ambition: “We have a bold mission to increase economic freedom in the world, and are constantly exploring opportunities around the world to build, buy, partner and invest to accelerate our roadmap.”

CoinDCX Still Reeling from $44M Hack

The acquisition speculation comes just days after CoinDCX experienced a $44.2 million exploit on July 18. The breach occurred when attackers accessed one of the company’s operational wallets through a server compromise. The wallet was linked to an internal account used for liquidity provisions with another exchange.

Despite the scale of the loss, Gupta reassured users that no customer funds were impacted. The exchange’s wallet structure, which separates customer holdings from operational accounts, helped contain the damage. The company has since launched a recovery bounty program, offering white hat hackers up to 25% of any funds successfully recovered from the incident.

CoinDCX has been vocal about building a secure and regulated digital asset environment, especially in a jurisdiction known for its evolving stance on cryptocurrency.

Coinbase Expands International Footprint

While Gupta has denied any sale of CoinDCX, Coinbase’s interest in the Indian market appears to be growing. The U.S.-based exchange registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March, potentially laying the groundwork for deeper involvement in the country’s crypto sector.

Coinbase has also been actively acquiring companies. In May, it completed a $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit to strengthen its derivatives offerings. More recently, it bought Liquifi, a token management platform designed for early-stage blockchain projects.

Though no deal appears to be underway between Coinbase and CoinDCX, the growing international activity signals continued consolidation in the global crypto market.