CoinDCX has raised $135.9 million (approximately Rs 1,000 crore) from investors led by Pantera Capital and Steadview Capital, doubling its valuation in eight months. The Economic Times reported on April 19 reaching $2.15 billion, making it the most valuable crypto trading platform in India. Pantera and Steadview have injected roughly half of their latest Series D funding round, which also saw participation from Kingsway Capital, DraperDragon, Republic, and Kindred Ventures, the report said. CoinDCX has raised over $245 million so far.

The exchange will use the funds to increase its workforce from 400 to more than 1,000 by the end of next year. It plans to hire across departments, including engineering, product, and compliance, the report added. Launched in 2018, it was the first Indian crypto startup to achieve unicorn status last year and has reportedly amassed more than 10 million users. In addition to allowing users to buy various tokens for as little as 100 Indian rupees ($1.3), the exchange also offers options for margin trading and staking digital assets.

The latest funding comes as cryptocurrency exchanges face new tax rules in India. Trading volumes on CoinDCX and its peers like WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber fell to new lows this month as access to user deposit methods was restricted. The report notes that over the past few weeks, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has distanced itself from cryptocurrency exchanges. In contrast, mobile payment wallet MobiKwik has cut off access to users.

“The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is unavailable, but it’s the easiest way for people to deposit fiat currency for crypto transactions, and it’s a challenge at the moment…we’re working on restoring UPI access,” the report cites CoinDCX’s federation The words of founder and CEO Sumit Gupta. “We are in discussions with NPCI and relevant stakeholders to understand the challenges and how we can address them and bring them back to normal.”