Top 10 DeFi Startups Drawing Attention from TradFi Investors

CoinDCX

Bengaluru-based CoinDCX, launched in 2018, is India's leading regulated crypto exchange, blending CeFi ease with DeFi access via its DCX DeFi Vaults offering 10-15% APYs on stablecoin staking without wallet hassles. It processes $2 billion monthly volume, with DeFi integrations like Aave and Uniswap drawing 15 million users.

TradFi allure: RBI-aligned KYC and insurance via Lloyd's of London make it a safe on-ramp for banks. In June 2025, ICICI Bank integrated CoinDCX for institutional DeFi pilots, tokenizing corporate bonds.

Funding: $135 million total, with a $135 million Series C in 2021 from Coinbase Ventures and B Capital. Recent $20 million from Tiger Global in Q2 2025 targets DeFi education tools.

WazirX

Delhi's WazirX, acquired by Binance in 2019, dominates with WRX token-powered DeFi features like perpetual futures and yield farming on its decentralized exchange. TVL exceeds $1.2 billion, bolstered by NFT marketplace integrations yielding 12% on idle assets.

TradFi magnet: Post-2024 hack recovery with audited reserves and partnerships with State Bank of India (SBI) for fiat-DeFi bridges. SBI tested WazirX for tokenized gold in April 2025.

Funding: $16.8 million pre-acquisition from MGX and Binance Labs. Post-2025, $10 million infusion from SBI Ventures for compliance upgrades.