According to Bloomberg, PeepalCo, the owner of Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch, is launching a stock trading app called Lemonn. The app will initially offer equities trading and eventually expand into product areas such as mutual funds and derivatives. This move comes as the Indian stock market experiences a boom, with its value more than tripling since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast, cryptocurrency trading has yet to recover from a transaction tax introduced in mid-2022.
PeepalCo is entering a crowded Indian equities market dominated by apps like Zerodha and Groww. However, CEO Ashish Singhal believes that the market remains under-penetrated. He stated that millions of Indians still find stock markets complicated, with only about 6% of the population investing in them. CoinSwitch, founded in 2017 and backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global, restructured its operations in December, creating PeepalCo as the holding company overseeing the crypto platform and other new initiatives like a wealth management app. CoinSwitch and Lemonn will be run as separate businesses, according to Singhal.