Travel booking startup targets Bitcoin investors with cashback offer

India’s CoinSwitch Trims Workforce Amid Market DownturnIn the wake of an extended cryptocurrency market downturn, India’s CoinSwitch, a crypto investing app, has become the latest platform to downsize its staff, as reported by local news agency Moneycontrol on Monday.Photo by Kelli McClintock on UnsplashCustomer support cutsThe exchange has reportedly let 44 employees go from its customer support division this month, attributing the move to redundant roles caused by the bear market’s decline in customer queries.In a statement, CoinSwitch explained: “We continuously evaluate our business to stay competitive, prioritizing innovation, value, and service for our customers. To that end, we right-sized our customer support team to align with the present volume of customer queries on our platform.”The company noted that this decision led to the voluntary resignation of 44 members from its support team, following detailed discussions with their managers. The 44 employees represent a significant portion — approximately 8% — of CoinSwitch’s total workforce. The company’s LinkedIn profile currently indicates that it has 519 employees.Following local industry trendCoinSwitch’s staff reduction news emerged barely a week after another prominent local exchange, CoinDCX, downsized its workforce by 12%, based on an overall headcount of around 730 employees (according to LinkedIn data).The fact that both businesses have taken the decision to cut staffing is indicative of an overall market downtrend currently. That said, CoinSwitch had onboarded 60 people since April, which would imply that the firm is expanding in other areas despite these customer service-related layoffs.This may reflect the company’s plan to change strategic direction. Going forward, CoinSwitch intends to diversify its product offering and transition towards becoming a wealth tech platform.CoinDCX layoffsCoinDCX’s Co-Founders, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, stated last week that they were making what was a very difficult decision to reduce the size of the team by 12% and that they regretted that talented team members would be moving on from the organization. The founders attributed the decision to market challenges and also pointed out the impact of the 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) applied to local crypto exchanges. They clarified:“These factors had a significant impact on our volumes and thus revenues. To adapt, we undertook several proactive measures, including direct cost optimization and investment in automation to drive efficiency and productivity.”According to the announcement, the affected CoinDCX employees will receive a support package including severance pay equivalent to their full notice period, an additional month of salary, extension of health insurance, and other forms of assistance.CoinSwitch was founded by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari in 2017. The company received the backing of leading venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and Ribbit Capital. In 2021 it was recognized as India’s second crypto firm to reach unicorn status, following a $260 million Series C funding round that saw the company reach a valuation of $1.9 billion.In 2022 India introduced a 30% tax on cryptocurrency gains, resulting in the exodus of numerous cryptocurrency service providers and a steep decline in crypto trading activity. The country has also implemented a 1% TDS for crypto exchanges, mandating that exchanges pay 1% on all crypto asset transfers.

In an effort to safeguard crypto investors from falling prey to misleading advertisements, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has intensified its scrutiny of promotional campaigns within the crypto sphere. Photo by Dave Kim on UnsplashBroker agent eventsOn April 29, the Bangkok Post reported that the SEC has raised concerns regarding the potential violation of local regulations through introducing broker agent (IBA) events. These events, the SEC clarified, may breach regulations as IBAs are only permitted to promote digital token services to deter speculation on cryptocurrencies, categorized as high-risk assets. IBAs, acting as local conduits for partner digital asset exchanges, typically earn commissions by onboarding clients within a specific market. Such practices are common for exchanges or brokers that don't directly operate in certain markets. Deputy Secretary-General Anek Yooyuen conveyed the commission's unease over crypto exchanges offering preferential treatment to onboard users. Yooyuen stated: "When operators organise sales promotions by offering rewards to entice people to use the service, this could encourage use of the service without considering the investment risks. This is especially the case for cryptocurrencies.” Warning of consequencesHe cautioned that failure to adhere to these guidelines would result in “punishment according to the law.” While cryptocurrency exchanges are legal in Thailand, they must secure local approval. Notably, last month, Thailand even greenlit asset management firms to launch private funds, offering Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) exclusively to institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Nonetheless, the country recently prohibited the sale of cryptocurrency lending products and mandated that exchanges prominently display risk warning messages. International regulatory trendThis move by the Thai SEC mirrors actions taken by regulators in other major crypto markets. For instance, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 450 alerts for illegal crypto ads in 2023 alone. Similarly, Spain’s principal securities market regulator, the National Stock Market Commission, denounced fraudulent crypto asset promotions in November 2023, emphasizing companies’ obligations to adhere to local laws. Thai advertising guidelines mandate businesses and advertisers to substantiate the “facts” presented in their campaigns, failing which could lead to legal repercussions. A recent incident provides a case in point. Hackers hijacked advertisements on Etherscan, redirecting users to phishing sites aimed at draining crypto wallets. Scam Sniffer, a blockchain investigation firm, attributed the widespread phishing campaign to the inadequate oversight by advertisement aggregators. The company made the following statement on the matter: “Etherscan aggregates ads from platforms like Coinzilla and Persona, where insufficient filtering could lead to exposure to phishing attempts.” The wallet drainer scam involves enticing users to counterfeit websites and coercing them to link their crypto wallets, enabling scammers to siphon funds into their own wallets without user authentication or consent. This is not the first time that the authorities in Thailand have homed in on crypto-related advertising. In August 2023, the Southeast Asian country’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) outlined that it had engaged with social media firm Meta, owner of Facebook, informing it that its response to the proliferation of fraudulent platform ads relative to crypto had been inadequate. 

Dunamu & Partners Invests $109M in 60 Promising StartupsInvestment firm Dunamu & Partners (D&P), a subsidiary of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit’s operator Dunamu, announced that it has made 144.4 billion KRW ($109 million) investments in 60 promising startups, as per economic news media Moneytoday.Photo by Precondo CA on UnsplashDiversified portfolioHaving commenced its operations five years ago, the investment company started investing in fintech and blockchain domains and later diversified its investments into other cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data management.AI and data managementA D&P official said that more than half of the investment (52%) has been allocated towards AI and data management. The company made initial investments in nascent startups and continued to provide additional funds to support their noticeable growth.One of the best cases is Korea Credit Data (KCD), the company behind retail revenue management solution Cashnote. After receiving strategic investment from D&P in 2018, KCD secured another 35 billion KRW ($26.4 million) last October to turn into a unicorn company, elevating its status to a unicorn company — a privately-owned startup valued at over $1 billion.Other notable companies in D&P’s portfolio include cloud-based foreign exchange payment solution Travel Wallet, AI-driven investment tech provider Qraft Technologies, and AI chip design firm Rebellions.Positive social impactD&P has also made investments in areas that generate positive social impact. D&P has committed 10 billion KRW ($7.6 million) each to whole-genome sequencing analysis company Genome Insight and knowledge-sharing platform Classum.Investments with capitalD&P invests entirely with capital and does not rely on funds for financing its investments. D&P CEO Lee Kang-joon emphasized the firm’s preemptive monitoring of market trends and its persistent investment strategy in the quest to identify the next industry trailblazer.