US-based SaaS blockchain orchestration platform Cion Digital said on Tuesday that it was setting up its first office and R&D centre in Pune. The company will invest Rs 50 crore and plans to hire over 100 engineers with expertise in blockchain technology this year.

Cion Digital is focused on crypto financing and payment solutions and had raised $12 million in seed funding in January 2022.

“A recent report by crypto exchange, CrossTower, and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) mention that India will hold $1.1 trillion digital asset opportunity by 2032 and is a gateway to the future decentralized world [web 3.0]. With today’s digital-savvy India willing to experiment with this emerging asset class, we are happy to be bringing our platform that will enable traditional businesses to deploy and benefit from crypto-based payments solutions previously unavailable to them,” said Snehal Fulzele, founder and CEO of Cion Digital.

This announcement comes at a time when the Indian government has said that it will work with the RBI to launch its own digital currency. The company provides a modular platform and ready-to-deploy payment and lending solutions that make incorporating digital assets into existing payment and financing systems faster.

Cion Digital makes it easy for established businesses, financial institutions and retailers to succeed in the digital asset economy without developing new systems or hiring more development resources. It also provides companies faster access to all the connectivity, infrastructure, and support needed to rapidly deploy blockchain-based real-time payments and financing.

“Our core strength is to help clients access revenue opportunities by expanding and integrating their existing financial systems to succeed in the evolving digital assets economy. We offer innovation without disruption. The funds we receive will be utilized to expand R&D resources and accelerate the rollout of crypto financing and payment solutions tailored for Financial Services companies,” said Arpit Agrawal, cofounder and chief engineering officer, Cion Digital.