Unocoin is backed by Tim Draper, Barry Silbert and Blume Ventures. As I tell the story, our first money came in 2014, about $250,000 in a round led by Barry Silbert. We raised about $1.5 million more in 2016. Then, after the Supreme Court set aside the RBI's banking ban on 4 March 2020, Tim Draper led our Series A. In total, by my count, we have raised maybe $6 million in thirteen years, while some of the larger names in Indian crypto raised hundreds of millions.
I am one of Unocoin's co-founders, so take this as my account, not a filing. What I want to explain is not just who invested, but what they were betting on, and why none of it should change the questions you ask before trusting any platform with your money. Investor backing is not a guarantee of anything.
The short answer
- Who: Tim Draper, Barry Silbert and Blume Ventures are Unocoin's publicly stated backers.
- When, as I remember it: about $250,000 in 2014, led by Barry Silbert; about $1.5 million in 2016; a Series A led by Tim Draper after the March 2020 judgment.
- How much in total: maybe $6 million over thirteen years, by my estimate.
- What it means for you: a signal about who believed in the company, not a protection for your money.
2014: the first cheque
We launched Unocoin in Bangalore in December 2013, at an event our Bitcoin meetup group organised and called the Global Bitcoin Conference. The meetup had grown out of one question people kept asking: can I buy some Bitcoin? In India at the time, the answer was, not easily.
The early weeks were rough. As I remember it, about 30 people from the tax department turned up at our office in the first week, when our team was a handful of people, and a couple of weeks after launch the RBI issued its first public caution on virtual currencies, on 24 December 2013. For a new company in a new industry, that is not the backdrop investors usually look for.
Barry Silbert led our first round in 2014, about $250,000. Money matters at that stage, but conviction matters more. Someone who knew the space was saying, this team, in this market, is worth a bet.
2016: building through the quiet years
In 2016 we raised about $1.5 million. After that, we did not raise for a long time. We built. For a while we were growing fast, close to what founders call escape velocity.
Then 2018 happened. On 6 April 2018, the RBI directed the banks and other entities it regulates not to deal in virtual currencies or serve anyone who did, with three months to exit existing relationships. Our bank accounts were shut. We had to lay off about a hundred people that year to survive. Many exchanges left India or shut. My co-founders decided to fight.
This is the part of the story that I think tells you most about a company's backers. Investors are easy to have in a boom. What matters is who is still on your cap table, and still taking your calls, when the central bank has cut you off from the banking system.
2020: a Series A after the judgment
The Internet and Mobile Association of India challenged the RBI circular, with other petitioners and crypto businesses joining. Unocoin was part of the case. Late in the proceedings, as I recount it, the judges asked to see a human whose rights had been violated, not just companies, and my co-founder Harish became the individual petitioner. On 4 March 2020, a three-judge bench set the circular aside on grounds of proportionality. All three judges ruled in the industry's favour.
After that judgment, Tim Draper led our Series A. For us, his backing came at the moment the Indian market reopened. It was a bet that the company that had stayed through the ban would be well placed when the doors opened again.
What investors bet on
Looking back over three rounds, I think our investors were betting on three things, roughly in this order:
- India. A very large population, one of the world's biggest gold markets, and a culture that understands scarcity. I see an obvious fit between that culture and Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin. Not tokens. Since 2016 the most common request we get has been, when are you launching a token? We have always said no. Our thesis is that Bitcoin is the future of money.
- Staying power. A team that would still be standing after whatever India threw at it. Thirteen years, a banking ban and a Supreme Court case later, that is the bet I am proudest we kept.
And a fourth thing, which is more my view than theirs: capital efficiency. Raising maybe $6 million in thirteen years forces you to be careful. It also means we were never built to spend our way to market share.
Why we raised so little
People sometimes ask why a company that started in 2013 has raised so little compared with newer exchanges. Part of it was timing: we spent years under the RBI's notices and then the banking ban, and that is not an easy story to raise money on. Part of it was choice: we never launched a token, which removed one of the easiest ways the industry raised money. The result is a smaller team that has had to earn every rupee of runway. I would not recommend that path to every founder, but it shaped how we think about customers' money: carefully, and for the long run.
What backing does not mean for you
This is the section I most want you to read.
Famous investors do not make a platform safe. They do not insure your Bitcoin. They do not guarantee the price, and they do not stand behind your account. Plenty of well-funded companies, in every industry, have failed their customers. If anyone, including us, uses investor names as a reason for you to trust them blindly, be careful.
Here is what you can check yourself, for Unocoin or any platform:
- Registration. Unocoin is registered with FIU-IND as a reporting entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. That is about anti-money-laundering reporting; it does not protect the price of anything.
- Track record. Operating since 2013, through the 2018 banking ban, and part of the case that overturned it. A track record you can read in public documents, but not a guarantee.
- Custody. Unocoin states that 95% of assets are held in cold storage with multi-signature wallets.
- Withdrawals. Can you move your Bitcoin to your own wallet? On Unocoin, Asset Controls allow transfers to your own wallet anytime, described as zero-fee. Test it with a small amount.
- Fees. Are they published clearly? Unocoin's are on its fee page and summarised in our fee table.
And the context that applies to every platform in India: crypto products are unregulated and can be highly risky, and there may be no regulatory recourse for any loss.
The full checklist, with sources, is on our Is Unocoin safe? page. The court case, with the documents, is on the Supreme Court page, and our early story is on the home page.
Common questions
Who invested in Unocoin?
Unocoin is backed by Tim Draper, Barry Silbert and Blume Ventures.
Is Unocoin backed by Tim Draper?
Yes. By co-founder Sunny Ray's account, Tim Draper led Unocoin's Series A after the Supreme Court set aside the RBI banking ban on 4 March 2020.
Does investor backing make a platform safe?
No. Backing is a signal of belief, not a protection. Check registration, track record, custody, withdrawals and fees yourself. Crypto is unregulated in India and there may be no regulatory recourse for loss.
Is Unocoin FIU registered?
Yes. Unocoin is registered with FIU-IND as a reporting entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.