Prestigious brands are not born but built, brick by brick, on the foundation of consistent effort and relentless innovation. The world we live in has witnessed a huge shift in the business landscape. The emergence of purposeled brands is no longer novel to us, reflecting a deeper shift in how businesses define success. In this world of fleeting trends and short-lived startups, a few names leave a lasting impression. One such trailblazer is CIFDAQ Group, a brand known for not just embracing disruption but making the best out of it.
As one of the most promising players in the world of next-gen enterprises, CIFDAQ Group deserves a closer look. Founded by Himanshu Maradiya, the brand is a compelling example of how blockchain is no longer confined to the shadows of cryptocurrency hype. It is now shaping enterprise narratives, rewriting how trust and transparency function in the business world. Himanshu is currently leading the company as the Chairman, bringing a distinct perspective to leadership. His act of balancing tech acumen with entrepreneurial foresight stands out as a hallmark of the new-age leadership.
This special feature includes deep dives into the lesser-known insights shared by Himanshu in a virtual meeting with us. We have covered a rare glimpse into the origins and future aspirations of CIFDAQ. His insights weren’t just about milestones or metrics, but about mindset, revealing how the company was born not merely out of opportunity, but from a deeply rooted drive to transform how technology and finance intersect. As the global market opens up to decentralized technologies, CIFDAQ stands as a testament to what happens when innovation meets integrity. And in a world that’s only beginning to grasp the true potential of blockchain, CIFDAQ is already steps ahead—quietly, confidently, building prestige in real-time.
The company profile
What emerged from our dialogue was more than just a company profile; it was the story of an extraordinary inception. From ideation to execution, CIFDAQ made a significant mark in the industry with its bold decisions and strategic clarity. Owing to this inspiring spirit, the company has positioned itself among the most watch-worthy brands on the blockchain frontier. The company has made its vision clear: to become an unparalleled entity in the next-generation blockchain ecosystem. Its main focal area is a centralized exchange trading portal, which came into existence from Himanshu Maradiya’s belief that anything that can be exchanged electronically ought to be available via a single, cohesive platform.
And we are not talking about any simple cryptocurrency exchange. The overall goal is to provide seamless access to a diverse range of blockchainnative tools, investment-ready products, and services. The service portfolio includes tokenization, safe custody, intelligent strategy automation, spot, and derivatives trading. They have also come up with a few flagship products like MPC Wallets, TokenSets, and CIFDAQ Prime that are already prevalent in the market.
Himanshu orated that at present, there is an international centralized exchange capable to onboard clients in more than 80 countries, offering safe, legal, and efficient trading options to an expanding user base. In the upcoming two months, CIFDAQ will utilize this momentum by launching its India-focused centralized exchange post regulatory approvals, which will be customized to adhere to regional regulatory requirements and consumer preferences.
The spark behind inception
Every brand has its own origin story. We wanted to unveil that spark of an idea leading to the establishment of CIFDAQ. Himanshu replied that it was during the global financial crisis that followed the COVID-19 lockdown. He noticed the growing public discourse around cryptocurrency and began a deep dive into blockchain technology. His observations led him to realize that the sector lacked an integrated, compliant, and user-friendly ecosystem. Indeed, this industry had huge potential and promised a lot to the users, but was operating in fragments, he said.
Once he realized all the pain points of the industry, he felt a need to build a comprehensive ecosystem where people can effortlessly interact with digital finance and blockchain within a compliant and tech-oriented environment. Owing to his daring attitude to walk the road less trodden, the brand has become a unified blockchain ecosystem that brings together centralized trading, investment tools, tokenization, gamification, and much more. And the best part is that all of these services can be accessed while staying aligned with global and local regulatory standards.
Standing out in the market
We know that businesses live in a crowded marketplace where consumers are inundated with choices. Here, a brand’s ability to rise above the noise depends on its unique offering or which we say ‘differentiating factor’. A Unique Selling Proposition isn’t just a marketing buzzword; it’s the core of what makes a brand memorable and meaningful. Whether it’s an innovative product feature, an unmatched service experience, a compelling brand story, or a bold purpose, a USP gives consumers. Its ceaseless focus on innovation and high-quality user experience makes it a promising player in the space.
Himanshu declared, “We are building India’s first holistic Web3 ecosystem, offering a complete stack of services across trading, investment, custody, tokenization, DeFi, and blockchain infrastructure. Our focus is on continuous innovation, using advanced technology to create new, forward-thinking products that redefine how people interact with crypto and digital assets. Our platform is designed to help users trade, learn, and even build in Web3, all in one place.” As per him, trust and transparency are the key differentiating factors for the success of their venture.
Be it is Indian or global regulatory frameworks, they ensure top-notch security and compliance to enhance user experience. For beginners and experienced investors alike, the platform offers a sense of ease of usage that makes its design user-friendly. Moreover, they firmly believe that education is the key to being successful in the field, for which they help users understand crypto before they invest. The leadership believes in demystifying the space by making it less intimidating for common people and more accessible to enthusiasts.
Crypto as India’s financial future
Cryptocurrency represents a paradigm shift in how value is stored, transferred, and grown. Its potential to make finance more open, efficient, inclusive, and secure is why many believe it’s not just the future of assets, but the future of finance itself. Himanshu articulated that cryptocurrency has all the means to be treated as a core asset in India’s financial future. He explained that, unlike traditional assets tied to centralized institutions or physical locations, crypto offers the flexibility and scalability needed to anchor the financial systems of the future.
He added that ignoring crypto is like ignoring the internet in today’s world. The next few decades will be focused on the tokenization of assets, where ownership will be digitally controlled. The markets would make a huge shift to become 24/7, global, and permissionless ecosystems. “In the Indian context, we have over 200 million digitalsavvy investors, a booming fintech ecosystem, and a growing appetite for alternative assets. India is also uniquely placed to lead in Web3 innovation, not just as a market, but as a builder nation. However, what’s missing is a credible, compliant, and India-first platform that can bridge trust and innovation. That is where CIFDAQ comes in,” he stated.
Empowering Users Through Innovation
Balanced and secure investments are the foundation of financial wellness, offering both peace of mind and the potential for steady returns. The company’s flagship offerings ensure a balanced and secure investment experience for its users. H-CEX, its nextgeneration exchange, supports everything from spot and futures markets to OTC trading, P2P exchanges, and advanced tools like strategy and copy trading. It’s designed to be secure, fraudresistant, and adaptable to users of varying expertise.
CIFDAQ is redefining the digital asset ecosystem with a suite of powerful, user-centric innovations. Their NFT marketplace breaks the mold by using algorithm-based pricing models, eliminating speculative volatility and enabling stable, value-driven transactions. In parallel, their DEX & DeFi Suite gives users full control over their assets, unlocking passive income opportunities through decentralized staking, yield farming, and lending tools.
Security meets simplicity in CIFDAQ’s MPC Wallet, offering seamless support for EVM-compatible tokens and hardware wallets with robust encryption at its core. Venturing into GameFi, CIFDAQ is raising the bar with “Play to Earn” and “Learn to Earn” models, even covering upfront NFT costs to make access and returns more inclusive and rewarding.
“Security, of course, is at the heart of CIFDAQ’s architecture. We use Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to ensure that private keys are never fully exposed, effectively minimizing the risk of internal or external breaches. In line with global regulatory frameworks, our platform also adheres to Travel Rule compliance for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), ensuring data privacy and integrity in every transaction. Predictive security models and real-time monitoring round out a multi-layered protection strategy designed for both individual and institutional users,” outlined Himanshu.
The process of onboarding has been made seamless with a DIY system backed by robust KYC verification, including document validation, address proof, and selfie liveness detection, to counter fraud at the very first step. Trust, transparency, and usability are clearly embedded into every layer of the user experience.
Aligning Stakeholders for Sustainable Growth
After delving into the broader scope of CIFDAQ’s vision, it’s equally important to highlight how their framework ensures stakeholder alignment and collective growth. The brand makes a future-forward approach where it facilitates long-term alignment among its users, validators, and developers. As India’s first full-stack Web3 ecosystem, they provide a comprehensive infrastructure that integrates the needs of all stakeholders. This unified platform not only facilitates innovation but also ensures that developers, users, and validators grow together within a harmonized and scalable ecosystem. It’s a model built on empowerment, collaboration, and decentralized growth.
Leading with Integrity in a Fast-Moving Industry
At a time when trust in digital finance is more crucial than ever, the brand’s approach reshapes what effective leadership looks like as it is deeply rooted in integrity, driven by transparency, and aligned with long-term value. The leadership at CIFDAQ operates with clarity of purpose and grounded values. Integrity and transparency aren’t just buzzwords—they’re central to how the team operates, both internally and with external stakeholders. The leadership team emphasizes a practical, team-first mindset, believing that trust and collective learning are the real engines behind sustainable growth. For each of the team members, scalability is always in focus, and systems are designed to evolve with the market, not lag behind it.
Meet the leadership team behind CIFDAQ
CIFDAQ’s core strength lies in its diverse and passionate team comprising a perfect blend of industry veterans and next-gen thinkers from the worlds of finance, technology, cybersecurity, brand, marketing, and compliance. Each leader brings unique experience and expertise to the table. Let’s get to know them one by one:
- Mr. Himanshu Maradiya, Founder & Chairman, is the visionary force behind CIFDAQ. With over 25 years of entrepreneurial and industry experience, he has consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to build, scale, and lead businesses. A pioneer in the blockchain space, his strategic foresight and unmatched commitment to responsible innovation have laid the foundation for CIFDAQ’s bold vision. Himanshu’s leadership is marked by clarity, depth, and the rare ability to turn ambitious ideas into lasting impact. Under his guidance, the company is evolving into a global ecosystem driven by trust, innovation, and long-term value creation.
- Mr. Rahul Maradiya is the Co-founder and Global CEO. He leads CIFDAQ’s global vision with sharp strategic insight and high adaptability. A business graduate from the University of Wolverhampton, he entered the world of decentralization at an early age, gaining deep exposure to crypto trading and staking. Rahul combines business acumen with youthful energy, navigating the fast-moving Web3 space with clarity, agility, and focus.
- With a strong foundation in portfolio management, Mr. Krunal Sheth, Co-Founder & Global CIO, is responsible for driving innovative investment strategies and forming global partnerships. His ability to blend data-driven insights with visionary thinking helps shape CIFDAQ’s investment and growth strategies across markets.
- Mr. C. N. Upadhyay is the Chief Strategy Officer at CIFDAQ, bringing over three decades of leadership experience in India’s financial markets. A Chartered Accountant and LL.M., he has held key positions at NSE, MCX, SKSE Securities, and as Executive Director of the Saurashtra & Kutch Stock Exchange. At CIFDAQ, he leads strategic planning and regulatory alignment, drawing on deep expertise in compliance, legal affairs, and capital markets infrastructure.
- Ms. Smrita Singh Chandra holds nearly two decades of experience across gaming, edtech, aviation, and logistics sectors. A skilled narrative strategist, she leads CIFDAQ’s brand positioning and communication as the Chief Brand & Corporate Communications Officer, with a focus on authenticity, clarity, and strategic storytelling across traditional and digital media.
- Mr. Ankur Sharma is the Chief Financial Officer who brings a unique mix of global finance, entrepreneurship, and legal expertise. With past roles in private equity, IPOs, and FinTech innovation, including a tenure at boAt, his leadership brings both structure and bold thinking to CIFDAQ’s global financial strategy, optimising capital management and accelerating growth.
- Mr. Ankur Garg is the Chief Operating Officer and holds over two decades of hands-on experience in the financial markets. Having traded across almost every asset class, bonds, commodities, equities, and crypto, he is not only a master of this space but also a strong team builder, having led large groups of analysts, quants, and risk professionals with great success.
- Mr. Anuj Barasia is the Chief Marketing Officer. He is a proven leader in India’s iGaming space. With over 14 years of experience in the space, has played a significant role in launching new products and building standout brands in an immensely competitive market.
- Mr. Anunay Kumar is the CEO of Gaming and brings a plethora of insights from his prior roles at some of the world’s top companies, such as Jio, Google, and Disney, among others. His product vision and understanding of gaming ecosystems are vital to the company’s expansion in this high-growth space.
Exchange (H-CEX), DeFi platforms, a licensed custodian service, staking solutions, and more. These offerings are being introduced through a strategic, phased approach to guarantee stability, security, and seamless integration across the ecosystem. Further details on each of these verticals are outlined in the sections ahead.Importantly, CIFDAQ’s vision goes beyond product and platform deployment.
The leadership is investing in what they see as the next frontier of blockchain: tokenization of real-world assets and GameFi. “Imagine having the same flexibility as cryptocurrency to trade tokenized bonds and stocks, or to own a portion of a high-value real estate property. Accessibility like this makes it possible for more people to benefit from wealth-building opportunities that were once out of reach. Blockchain makes inclusive finance a reality,” shared Mr. Himanshu Maradiya, Founder & Chairman of CIFDAQ.
The future outlook
CIFDAQ has already made a powerful entrance, disrupting the digital asset space with its bold vision and foundational innovation. Looking ahead, the company’s trajectory is poised to become even more transformative.In the coming months, CIFDAQ will be actively pursuing multiple regulatory licenses across key global jurisdictions, a strategic move that underscores its unwavering commitment to building a fully compliant, globally recognized Web3 ecosystem. The aim is simple yet profound: to make it easier and safer for people across the world to interact with digital assets through a secure, regulated platform.
The CIFDAQ Blockchain Ecosystem is designed to revolutionize the crypto domain by introducing a compliant, secure, and transparent digital infrastructure. This advanced ecosystem will empower investors and users to optimize efficiency while ensuring their assets remain protected within regulated environments. As part of its larger roadmap, CIFDAQ is currently in the process of developing and rolling out a diverse range of products, including its flagship Hybrid Centralized CIFDAQ is also laying the groundwork to integrate blockchain gaming into its ecosystem — combining gameplay, digital ownership, and decentralized economies to unlock immersive, community-driven experiences.
“At CIFDAQ, we’re not just building for today. We’re creating the infrastructure for the future of finance — one that is more open, inclusive, and powered by trust. The journey ahead is exhilarating, and we’re just getting started,” Himanshu added.