CoinDCX quashes Coinbase buyout rumors following cyber heist

Sumit Gupta, CEO of Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX, has publicly denied reports suggesting the company is in acquisition talks with US-based crypto platform Coinbase.

The speculation emerged after a Livemint report claimed that negotiations were underway between the two crypto trading platforms.

However, Gupta quickly dismissed the claims in a July 29 post on X (formerly Twitter), saying:

“Ignore the rumours! CoinDCX is ‘super focused’ on building for India’s crypto story and not up for sale!”

Mridul Gupta, a co-founder and senior executive at CoinDCX, also shared this view and labeled the report “false.” He noted that rather than planning an exit, the company is actively expanding and recruiting talent across various departments.

Coinbase is the largest US-based crypto trading platform. The firm halted its Indian operations in 2022 under regulatory pressure. re-entered India in March after it secured a key regulatory nod from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Since then, the exchange has made no further announcements about its plan for the Asian country.

CoinDCX security breach

The rumors surfaced after a $44 million security breach on CoinDCX, allegedly orchestrated by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Blockchain analytics firm Cyvers identified attack patterns consistent with previous Lazarus operations, including cross-chain bridges and Tornado Cash to obscure fund flows.

According to Cyvers, the attackers likely exploited exposed API keys or misconfigured backend systems, allowing them to transfer assets from the Solana blockchain to Ethereum and launder them anonymously.

In response to the exploit, CoinDCX introduced an $11 million bounty initiative offering up to 25% of recovered assets. The program aims to engage ethical hackers, researchers, and blockchain firms in asset recovery efforts.

Despite this attack, CoinDCX remains one of India’s largest digital asset platforms, managing over $161 million in customer assets and processing around $14 million in daily trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap data

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