a16z-Backed Indian Crypto Exchange Launches the First Rupee-Based Index

• CoinSwitch CEO Kuber Ashish Singhal tweeted the latest updates regarding the newly unveiled index, the Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8). He stated that it will provide a true picture of the Indian market and help local investors make “informed investment decisions,” as they no longer need to “second-guess how the Indian Crypto market is behaving.”

Until now, investors in India had to rely on international indices based on US Dollar. But these indices do not give the true picture of the Indian market and miss the supply-demand dynamics of India’s growing investor base.

— Ashish Singhal (@ashish343) June 2, 2022

• CRE8 is the first product offering such a direct view of the market in India.
• As one of the largest exchanges in the country, CoinSwitch Kuber said it has 18 million registered users on its trading app, and they can directly access the new product.
• The new index, tracking the performance of eight predominant crypto assets that account for over 85% of the total volume traded in rupees, will be refreshed over 1,400 times a day (approximately one time per minute) to ensure that it follows the real-time market movement.
• As reported previously by CryptoPotato, major exchanges based in India have witnessed a sharp decline in trading volume after the controversial tax introduced by the government came into effect on April 1st. Indian government’s Budget 2022-23 stated that it would levy a 30% tax on profits and 1% TDS on all cryptocurrency transactions.
• Singhal previously urged the authorities to lay out a set of laws further clarifying regulatory uncertainties on cryptocurrency to boost the sector and protect investors.
• In October 2021, the exchange raised $260 million from renowned VCs, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, and Sequoia Capital, reaching a valuation of $1.9 billion.