CoinDCX CEO denies potential sale rumors after $44M hack

CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta debunks claims of a potential deal with Coinbase following a recent cyber attack. The Indian crypto exchange recently lost $44 million to hackers, reportedly drawing the attention of American giant Coinbase.

Insiders have suggested that Coinbase may be eyeing an acquisition of CoinDCX at a fraction of its $2.2 billion peak valuation. However, Gupta insists the company is not for sale.

Coinbase says they are actively exploring opportunities to build and invest

CoinDCX’s Gupta wrote on X: “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!”

In response, some crypto community members supported him, urging the exchange to continue to build from India to the rest of the world, while others called on the platform to sell to Coinbase. 

According to reports, Coinbase planned to buy CoinDCX at a 60% discount, for around $1 billion. Earlier this year, Coinbase was also rumored to be plotting a re-entry into the Indian market. If the acquisition plans were true, it could have significantly boosted the firm’s regional competitiveness.

Coinbase has yet to clarify its position, though one spokesperson told LiveMint that the platform was focused on expanding economic freedom globally and continues to seek opportunities to build, acquire, partner, and invest. 

Coinbase already holds stakes in CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, another major Indian exchange. Some had even started speculating that the exchange could merge CoinDCX and CoinSwitch to establish itself in the Indian crypto space. 

CoinSwitch co-founder Ashish Singhal, however, refuted claims of ongoing merger discussions. Nonetheless, he conceded that the lack of regulatory clarity, high tax burdens, and inconsistent government communication on digital assets have made the operating environment increasingly difficult for crypto firms in India. 

The $44 million hack shows weak security as CoinDCX works to rebuild trust

Just two weeks ago, hackers drained $44 million from CoinDCX, exposing serious vulnerabilities in its internal operations, including how it manages its liquidity and backend access. The company also delayed disclosure of the incident by nearly 17 hours, which intensified concerns.

The delay contrasted how global crypto exchanges like Binance and Bybit typically reported such incidents within hours. CoinDCX justified its delay by saying that its internal teams focused first on securing the platform, containing the breach, and preventing any further damage.

However, cybersecurity experts say immediate transparency, combined with parallel internal action, is the global norm for responsible incident handling, especially when millions of dollars are at stake.

CoinDCX launched a recovery bounty program in response to the attack, offering up to 25% (about $11 million) for white-hat hackers or ethical actors who might help trace or recover the stolen funds.

Still, cybersecurity analysts and journalists like Giuseppe Ciccomascolo say the attackers gained access either through compromised internal credentials or weaknesses in backend systems. They then transferred the assets across multiple blockchain networks, using coin mixers and anonymizing tools to obscure the flow and destination of the stolen funds. Security professionals like Jayjit Biswas stated that no institutional investor or regulator in a mature financial market would accept the internal controls and risk models currently used by CoinDCX.

Legal experts such as Pranesh Prakash also argued that India’s regulatory framework for crypto focuses mainly on anti-money laundering compliance while ignoring the broader pillars of financial system stability. They warned that the country’s crypto ecosystem will remain vulnerable unless this framework evolves rapidly.

CoinDCX has assured its users that they are now “financially strong, fully operational, and firmly committed to building for the long term.”

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