New Delhi, July 29 -- US cryptocurrency giant Coinbase is in advanced discussions to acquire India's CoinDCX as the local crypto exchange recovers from a $44 million hack, two people aware of the development said.

A deal may value CoinDCX, one of India's largest crypto exchanges, at less than a billion dollars, sharply below its peak valuation of $2.2 billion three years ago, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. If completed, the acquisition would mark a deeper push by Coinbase into India, where it already owns stakes in CoinDCX and rival CoinSwitch.

"Coinbase sees this as a long-term strategic bet," one of the two people cited above said. "Buying CoinDCX at this discounted valuation is essentially a low-cost gambl...