Imagine opening CoinSwitch, adding ₹1,000, and buying Bitcoin or Ethereum in a few taps. There is no broker calling you and no complicated trading terminal if you do not want one. For a beginner, it feels like a simple investment app.
But CoinSwitch is not making money because Bitcoin belongs to the company. It operates as a crypto investing and trading platform. CoinSwitch executes buy and sell transactions for users and earns mainly from the fees and commissions generated when people trade.
The business has also become broader. CoinSwitch now offers spot trading, futures, options, API trading, automated strategies and staking-related services. CoinSwitch PRO also works as an aggregation platform that can route trades through third-party crypto exchanges.
The scale is significant. CoinSwitch said FY2025-26 revenue rose 150% to about ₹324.19 crore. Adjusted EBITDA increased to about ₹86.38 crore, giving it an adjusted EBITDA margin of roughly 27%. The platform serves more than 2 crore users and offers access to more than 450 crypto assets.
To understand the CoinSwitch business model, the key is to follow the trading activity. The more customers buy, sell and use advanced crypto products, the more opportunities CoinSwitch has to earn transaction and service fees. Let’s break down the model step by step.
1. Spot Trading Fees: The Core Revenue Engine
The simplest way CoinSwitch makes money is through crypto trading fees.
When a user buys or sells a crypto asset, the platform can charge a small percentage of the trade value. CoinSwitch has itself described its basic business model as earning commissions for executing buy and sell transactions on behalf of users.
Suppose Rahul buys ₹20,000 worth of Bitcoin. If the applicable trading fee is 0.1%, the fee would be ₹20. If Rahul later sells the Bitcoin, another trading fee may apply.
₹20 does not look like much. But when lakhs of orders are placed across a large customer base, small charges can add up quickly.
CoinSwitch PRO uses maker and taker pricing. A maker places an order that adds liquidity to the market, while a taker places an order that immediately matches an existing order. CoinSwitch’s 2026 material shows standard PRO spot pricing with a 0% maker fee and around 0.1% taker fee, although actual fees can vary by account, trading volume and promotions.
This makes trading volume extremely important. A customer who buys crypto once and holds it for years generates far less transaction revenue than an active user.
2. Futures Trading Fees
CoinSwitch also offers crypto futures.
Futures let traders take a position on whether a crypto price may rise or fall without simply buying the coin and holding it. These products are generally used by more experienced traders.
CoinSwitch earns trading fees when futures orders are executed. Its 2026 published material shows maker fees around 0.024%, while taker fees can be around 0.065% for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and around 0.075% for some other futures products. Rates can change with the product, user tier or offer.
An active trader may open a futures position in the morning, reduce it later, and enter another trade at night. Each executed trade can produce a fee.
One important distinction is the funding rate. CoinSwitch states that this payment is exchanged between long and short traders; it is not a platform fee collected by CoinSwitch.
3. Crypto Options Trading Fees
CoinSwitch has also expanded into crypto options.
Options let traders take exposure to future price movements through contracts rather than simply owning the crypto. They are more complex than spot buying, but they can create frequent trading activity.
CoinSwitch currently advertises crypto-options trading fees starting at about 0.015%, with rates around 0.015% to 0.020% depending on the trade.
If a trader buys and sells Bitcoin options several times during a week, each eligible transaction can generate a small fee for the platform.
This matters because CoinSwitch is no longer dependent only on beginners buying crypto through its basic app. Futures and options give it additional ways to earn from advanced traders.
4. CoinSwitch PRO and the Aggregation Model
CoinSwitch PRO adds another layer to the business.
The company describes PRO as a crypto aggregation platform. Depending on the product and customer instruction, it can execute trades through third-party crypto exchanges available through the platform.
In simple terms, a trader can use CoinSwitch PRO as an interface to access crypto markets without separately managing every trading venue.
CoinSwitch earns through the trading fees charged on transactions.
Its affiliate programme also shows how central these fees are. CoinSwitch pays affiliates a share of trading fees generated by referred customers. That payout is a marketing cost, but it confirms that transaction fees are an important revenue pool for the business.
5. Staking and EARN Service Fees
CoinSwitch can also earn when eligible users use its staking or EARN service.
Staking lets people lock supported crypto assets to help with blockchain validation. The blockchain can issue rewards in return.
CoinSwitch simplifies the process by connecting users with supported validators and handling the technical steps inside the app.
Its EARN terms state that, under the standard structure, CoinSwitch deducts a service fee of 10% plus applicable GST from the blockchain reward before the remaining reward is made available to the user after unlocking.
For example, if a user earns rewards worth ₹1,000, a 10% service fee would mean ₹100 as CoinSwitch’s service charge before tax.
This creates a revenue source that does not require the customer to sell the underlying crypto.
6. SmartInvest and API Trading
CoinSwitch PRO also offers SmartInvest, where users can choose strategies created by selected professional strategy developers. Trades are then executed automatically according to the chosen strategy.
It is important to understand who earns what.
The strategy creator can take an agreed share of the profits. That profit share should not automatically be treated as CoinSwitch revenue.
CoinSwitch can still benefit because SmartInvest creates actual trades on the platform, and those trades can generate applicable trading fees.
The same idea applies to API trading. CoinSwitch provides tools that let sophisticated users automate trades. The API itself currently does not necessarily carry a separate access fee, but trades executed through it can still be subject to trading charges.
These tools therefore help CoinSwitch increase engagement and trading volume.
7. CoinSwitch Says It Does Not Lend Customer Crypto
A common question is whether a crypto platform makes extra money by lending or reinvesting customers’ crypto.
CoinSwitch has publicly said that this is not its model.
The company states that it does not reinvest or borrow against user crypto held in custody. It says its revenues are based on commissions charged for executing transactions.
That distinction is important. CoinSwitch wants its core economics to come from customer activity rather than using customer crypto as a lending pool.
In that sense, its model is closer to a transaction-based brokerage than a lender using customer holdings.
8. Spread, Network Charges and Taxes Are Not All CoinSwitch Revenue
Crypto users can see several costs around a transaction, but they should not all be treated as CoinSwitch revenue.
A bid-ask spread is the difference between the best available buying and selling prices. It affects the price a trader receives, but it is not automatically the same as a fee booked as CoinSwitch revenue.
Crypto withdrawals can involve blockchain network charges. These may go to miners, validators or the relevant network rather than becoming ordinary platform income.
Similarly, the 1% TDS that can apply to certain Indian crypto transactions is a tax deduction for the government. It is not money CoinSwitch keeps as revenue. GST collected on applicable fees is also a tax.
The core business is therefore much easier to understand when these items are separated from CoinSwitch’s own commissions and service charges.
9. Why Scale Matters
CoinSwitch’s model works best when it has a large number of users and high trading activity.
A beginner might buy ₹1,000 of crypto and rarely trade again. Another user may trade spot crypto several times a month. A professional may trade futures or options almost every day. A staking customer may pay a service fee from rewards.
These groups create different levels of revenue from the same platform.
This is why CoinSwitch keeps expanding beyond a simple buy-and-hold app. PRO, futures, options, API trading, SmartInvest and staking give existing customers more reasons to remain active.
10. What the Latest Financial Numbers Show
CoinSwitch’s FY2025-26 performance shows that the transaction-led model gained momentum.
The company reported revenue of about ₹324.19 crore, up 150% from the previous financial year.
Adjusted EBITDA rose to roughly ₹86.38 crore from about ₹1.65 crore in FY2024-25. Its adjusted EBITDA margin increased to around 27%.
Operating costs increased about 37% to ₹270.07 crore, much slower than revenue growth.
That matters because a digital platform has significant fixed costs for technology, cybersecurity, compliance, employees and customer support. Once the infrastructure is built, additional trading activity can add revenue without costs rising at the same speed.
The FY26 figures suggest CoinSwitch was able to turn stronger user activity and a broader product mix into better operating economics.
Conclusion
CoinSwitch makes money mainly by helping people trade crypto and charging fees for that service.
Spot trading is the simplest example. A user buys or sells crypto, and CoinSwitch earns a transaction commission according to the applicable fee structure.
Futures and options add fee income from active traders. CoinSwitch PRO expands the model through advanced trading and aggregation. API trading and SmartInvest can increase the number of transactions on the platform.
Staking creates another revenue stream because CoinSwitch can deduct a service fee from eligible blockchain rewards.
Just as importantly, CoinSwitch says it does not rely on lending or reinvesting customer crypto to make money. Its stated model is based mainly on transaction commissions and service fees.
In simple words, the CoinSwitch business model works by making crypto trading easy for beginners, offering advanced tools for serious traders, and earning a small amount whenever customers use revenue-generating trading or crypto services at scale.
