CoinDCX has denied speculation about a potential acquisition by Coinbase, reaffirming its commitment to the Indian market as it works to recover from a recent $44 million security breach.

CoinDCX Rebuffs Buyout Speculation

Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX has officially denied media reports suggesting it is in acquisition talks with U.S.-based crypto giant Coinbase. The rumours surfaced just days after CoinDCX reported a $44 million security incident that targeted its operational infrastructure.

On Tuesday, CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta took to X (formerly Twitter) to dismiss the speculation, stating bluntly: 

“Ignore the rumours.” 

The post came in response to a report by business daily Mint, which claimed that Coinbase was in advanced discussions to acquire CoinDCX at a reduced valuation of $1 billion, down from its previous $2.2 billion valuation in 2022.

Executives Reaffirm Indian Market Focus

The Mint report also suggested that Coinbase had already secured equity in both CoinDCX and its local competitor CoinSwitch. However, this claim was also denied by CoinDCX’s leadership.

Co-founder and COO Mridul Gupta and co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal both joined in rejecting the acquisition claims. Sumit Gupta further added that more updates would be shared in due course, but the company remains focused on its India-first approach. He reaffirmed CoinDCX’s ongoing commitment to “building for the community.”

Fallout From $44M Hack Still Unfolding

The timing of the rumours coincides with CoinDCX's ongoing efforts to manage the fallout from a major security breach that occurred on July 18. Hackers exploited an operational wallet used for liquidity provisioning with another exchange, siphoning approximately $44.2 million within minutes. The breach was traced to an internal server compromise.

Despite the scale of the hack, CoinDCX confirmed that no customer funds were affected. According to Gupta, the company’s security architecture effectively protects user assets, which remain secured in cold storage.

Immediate action was taken to contain the breach, and all impacted systems were isolated swiftly to prevent further losses.

Recovery Measures and Bounty Initiative

In a bid to recover the stolen funds, CoinDCX has launched an $11 million bounty program, representing up to 25% of the lost assets. The initiative is aimed at attracting ethical hackers, blockchain researchers, and white-hat security experts to assist in the recovery effort.

Despite the setback, CoinDCX remains a key player in India’s digital asset market. The exchange reportedly manages over $161 million in customer holdings and facilitates daily trading volumes of up to $14 million.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice