CoinSwitch Launches Umbrella Brand PeepalCo Amid Transition To Wealthtech

Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch unveiled an umbrella brand, PeepalCo, on December 12 (Tuesday) to house all its business verticals amid an ongoing transition to wealthtech.

The crypto unicorn is looking to diversify its offerings to include investment products like fixed deposits, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, and mutual funds. The startup, in a statement, said that the house of brands approach will allow it to stay flexible.

According to the startup, PeepalCo will include three separate brands under its umbrella – CoinSwitch, CoinSwitch Pro – a soon-to-be-launched platform with newer investment classes, and a wealth management division catering to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). 

The development comes months after it was reported that the startup was planning to launch a stock trading vertical.

Ashish Singhal, cofounder and group CEO of PeepalCo, Govind Soni, cofounder and group CTO of PeepalCo, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, cofounder and group COO of PeepalCo, will lead the umbrella entity.

CoinSwitch said each of its verticals will have professional management. The leaders of each business segment will have independent operational and financial accountability. Under this restructuring, CoinSwitch appointed Balaji Srihari as the business head of CoinSwitch.

Speaking on the development, Singhal said, “The new structure is designed to unlock the full potential of our organisation and align our resources more effectively. We will focus on capital allocation and work to make sure each business under professional management is executing to its best.”

PeepalCo’s launch comes amid CoinSwitch’s larger plans to pivot into a wealthtech platform.

The crypto platform is planning to apply for a stockbroker’s licence with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), while it is said to be in talks with several non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks to offer fixed deposits. 

Earlier this month, the crypto unicorn also launched ‘EARN’, a feature that enables users to accrue passive income on their crypto holdings. Users can lock in their crypto through EARN for validation and get rewards in the form of crypto directly by the blockchain.

In August, CoinSwitch laid off 44 employees as part of a restructuring exercise. The layoffs predominantly impacted the customer support team.

The move towards conventional investment vehicles and to expand offerings is likely a part of the startup’s plans to reduce dependency on cryptocurrency amid regulatory ambiguity and high taxation burden in India. 

The Indian government’s decision to levy a 30% tax on gains from crypto and other virtual digital assets and a 1% TDS on crypto transactions has impacted crypto trading in India. This also led to startups like WeTrade and Pillow shutting operations this year.

Crypto startups in India are also dealing with an increased reporting burden as the government recently mandated each company trading VDAs to register as a reporting entity with the Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND).