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We are creating a simplified investing ecosystem: Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch

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Crypto is an emerging yet attractive asset class. It is a $1.25 trillion market globally. The India adoption story is no different with nearly 20 million unique users, over $6.6 billion in investments and more than a billion dollars in venture capital funding.

India is already the second-largest in terms of crypto adoption globally.

Crypto in India has come a long way but this is just the beginning — Crypto is a billion people industry in the making.

Govind Soni, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, CoinSwitch, India’s largest crypto investing app, told IANS that their priority is to make it transparent, trustworthy and secure, and enable Indians to participate in this technology shift in a meaningful way.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Why is Crypto important, and how can India benefit from it?

A: Crypto is the gateway to a decentralised internet. The computing power of the billions of devices around the world can be utilised and incentivised using Crypto to build a new internet, called Web3.

India has the opportunity to take the lead in this transformation. We have the talent, users and the startup ecosystem. And we are witnessing an upskilling and migration of India’s large pool of engineers and developers to the cutting-edge and advanced field of blockchain and crypto.

All this puts India in a sweet spot. With an enabling regulatory environment, India can get a headstart and steer the direction of Web3 while it is built.

Q: Crypto has come a long way. Every day we hear news that even Wall Street giants are adopting Crypto. Why is that?

A: Institutional adoption is a sign that Crypto has well and truly grown beyond white papers to be a smart investment class. The origin of Crypto may have been based on an idea of a digital currency, but now it has evolved to become an attractive, emerging asset class.

There are several interesting use-cases being built on this technology. That is the intrinsic value of Crypto: The confidence and uptake of the underlying blockchain technology. Institutional investors understand this and have done their due diligence.

While retail investors continue to be the early adopters and torchbearers of Cryptos, growing institutional adoption underlines the fact that this is an asset class that is here to stay.

Even traditional markets are adopting and gaining exposure to Cryptos. All of this bodes well for the growth of the asset class.

Q: What about India? There is regulatory uncertainty on Crypto here. Do you see this changing and Crypto becoming a mainstream asset class here?

A: Certainly. Cryptos are an emerging asset class that speak to India’s digital-savvy population.

With regulatory clarity, institutional investors too will find the confidence to invest in and benefit from Cryptos.

As we have seen globally, Cryptos can attract significant institutional and foreign investments if regulations can enable innovations and provide the necessary guardrails. India can benefit similarly.

Innovations such as decentralised finance, or DeFi, can be an effective and fast enabler of capital for small and medium-scale businesses in India. Crypto is also paving the way for interesting applications such as decentralized social media that Indians can greatly benefit from.

Q: How is CoinSwitch protecting investors on its platform?

A: At CoinSwitch, investor protection is of utmost importance to us. While we have been using various digital platforms to inform, educate and engage with new crypto enthusiasts, we are continuously updating our app to help users make informed investing decisions.

And, numbers tell the story. The average time a user spends on our app reading, buying, selling, or trading has gone up to 27 minutes from 13 minutes in January 2021.

In line with our ongoing product feature upgrades to tighten platform security, we have launched Riskometer — our attempt to help users think twice before investing in a coin. The Riskometer provides a risk warning on coins that are highly volatile, or when the risk assessment suggests that users need to proceed with caution while investing.

We understand that ensuring compliance with relevant regulations is key to ensuring a safe, secure, and trustworthy user experience. Users on our platform can utilise their account balances (of Indian Rupees and crypto assets) to only transact on our platform or withdraw Indian Rupees. They can only deposit Indian Rupees from their verified bank account. Similarly, after selling crypto assets, users can withdraw Indian Rupees only to their verified bank account.

Q: What does cloud technology enable you to do better?

A: Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows to scale up on infrastructure and services without having any dependencies, or minimum usage commitments. AWS continues to make incremental improvements to its solutions and services, allowing us to easily deliver value to our customers. If we had to build these capabilities on our own it would have taken us significantly longer. With the shared responsibility model, security of the cloud is addressed by AWS and this helps us considerably reduce our efforts towards security and compliance. AWS account team and Enterprise Support provides proactive guidance and support as we scale our platforms. AWS is the easy answer for any internet-based ecosystem that wants to scale faster.

CoinSwitch is trusted by over 18 million registered users, making it the largest crypto investing app in India. Ours is a built-to-scale platform developed on top of AWS. Among a host of things, AWS has improved our time to market, handle spikes in traffic, and manage risks more efficiently. All of these put together help us provide a simplified and secure user experience on the app.

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Sensex, Nifty open on positive note as geopolitical tensions ease

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Mumbai, Jan 23: The Indian stock market opened higher on Friday, extending gains for the second consecutive trading session while tracking positive global cues.

As of 9.30 am, the Sensex added 132 points, or 0.16 per cent to reach 82,440 and the Nifty advanced 52 points, or 0.21 per cent to 25,342.

Main broad-cap indices performed in line with benchmark indices, as Nifty Midcap 100 added 0.32 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.24 per cent.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green except Nifty media, PSU bank, realty as well as oil and gas.The top gainer was Nifty metal, up over 0.9 per cent. Nifty Media was the notable loser, down 0.74 per cent.

Immediate support for Nifty is placed at 25,100-25,150 zone, while key support is seen at 25,400–25,450 zone, market watchers said.

Asia-Pacific markets rose in the morning session, tracking Wall Street gains as geopolitical concerns moderated. Investor optimism rose as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady.

The pattern of sustained FII selling and DII buying, which dominated the market trend in 2025, have continued in 2026 so far. Investors look for a change in this pattern from cues in Budget 2026.

The FII’s stance on India depends on growth in India’s corporate earnings as they can invest in other markets with cheaper valuations and better earnings, analysts said.

Since earnings growth may take some time, FII selling is expected to continue, pre-empting any healthy rally. FIIs are adding to the short positions on every rally triggered by some positive news, they added.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index added 0.27 per cent, and Shenzhen gained 0.24 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.5 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.29 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.92 per cent.

The US markets ended in the green overnight as Nasdaq advanced 0.91 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 0.55 per cent, and the Dow added 0.63 per cent.

On January 22, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold net equities worth Rs 2,550 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 4,223 crore.

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WEF Davos 2026: From Innovation City In Mumbai To ₹14.5 Lakh Crore Deals, Devendra Fadnavis’ Mega Maharashtra Development Plan

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis used the global platform of the World Economic Forum Annual Summit 2026 to outline a sharp and expansive roadmap aimed at accelerating the state’s transformation into a technology driven, infrastructure led and sustainability-focused economic powerhouse. Over multiple sessions and investor interactions, the Chief Minister positioned Maharashtra as a preferred global investment destination with long term policy clarity.

One of the most prominent announcements was the plan to develop a state of the art Innovation City near the Mumbai airport. Envisioned as a plug and play ecosystem, the project is designed to attract startups, global technology firms, research institutions and innovation driven enterprises. The proposed city will focus on artificial intelligence, fintech, deep tech and digital infrastructure, offering seamless business readiness and world class connectivity.

Backing the Innovation City project, Tata Sons committed an investment of nearly 11 billion dollars, translating to over Rs 90,000 crore. The investment is expected to play a catalytic role in shaping the project’s infrastructure, technology backbone and employment potential. Officials indicated that the commitment reflects strong investor confidence in Maharashtra’s governance and growth trajectory.

On the first day of the summit itself, Maharashtra secured Memoranda of Understanding of approximately Rs 14.5 lakh crore. These agreements span sectors such as data centres, logistics, urban infrastructure, financial services and clean energy. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority alone signed 19 major MoUs aimed at strengthening logistics corridors, fintech ecosystems and large scale urban projects.

The MoUs signed on Day One are projected to generate over 15 lakh jobs across sectors, including infrastructure manufacturing, renewable energy, digital services, food processing and automobiles. The employment boost is likely to span skilled technology roles, infrastructure related work and allied services, particularly across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and emerging growth centres.

Fadnavis reiterated the government’s vision for the Raigad Pen Growth Centre, referring to it as the Third Mumbai. Planned as a new age business district, the area will host global capability centres, data centres and fintech hubs, easing pressure on Mumbai while creating a modern commercial nucleus aligned with future industries.

In line with sustainability goals, the Chief Minister announced a target to source 52 percent of Maharashtra’s total power from renewable energy by 2030. He also outlined a circular economy vision for Mumbai, focusing on waste reduction, resource efficiency and sustainable urban development, aligning the city with global climate commitments.

A MedTech roadmap was unveiled to make healthcare more affordable through advanced medical technology. Alongside this, strategic partnerships were announced to strengthen Maharashtra’s artificial intelligence ecosystem, with the aim of positioning the state as a leading AI hub in India.

Throughout the summit, Fadnavis engaged with global leaders and investors, reinforcing Maharashtra’s ambition of becoming a one trillion dollar economy driven by innovation, infrastructure and sustainability.

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Sensex, Nifty post strong gains as geopolitical tensions ease over Greenland

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Mumbai, Jan 22: The Indian benchmark indices posted strong gains in early trade on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump walked back on his tariff threats against eight European countries over Greenland ownership.

As of 9.25 am, the Sensex added 568 points, or 0.69 per cent to reach 82,477 and the Nifty advanced 160 points, or 0.64 per cent to 25,317.

Main broadcap indices overperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 adding 0.94 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 advancing 1.01 per cent.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green, with Nifty auto, PSU bank, media and IT being the notable gainers — up 1.05 per cent, 0.89 per cent, 1 per cent and 0.80 per cent, respectively.

Immediate support lies at 25,000 zone, while resistance is now anchored near 25,250–25,300 zone, market watchers said.

Asia-Pacific markets rebounded after Trump informed that tariffs won’t be imposed on European countries over Greenland.

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Trump said that force would not be used to acquire the Arctic island, adding that he had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland,” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Analysts said that Trump’s message that the US would “refrain from imposing tariffs on Europe” retracts threat of a US-Europe trade war which was dragging the markets down.

The consequent relief rally in the market could be significant since two lakh short contracts are lying in the market, with the market construct appropriate for a short-covering, they said.

Though the Q3 profitability of companies was negatively impacted by higher provision for the new labour code commitments, the market will shrug it off as a one time factor, an analyst added.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index lost 0.12 per cent, and Shenzhen eased 0.12 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.87 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.08 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.97 per cent.

The US markets ended in the green in the last trading session as Nasdaq advanced 1.18 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 1.16 per cent, and the Dow added 1.21 per cent.

On January 20, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in India sold net equities worth Rs 1,788 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 4,520 crore.

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