Coinbase is working to re-enter India more than a year after officially suspending operations in the world’s most populous countries.
American Crypto Exchange is a government agency that scrutinizes financial transactions, according to two sources familiar with issues that demanded anonymity because deliberations are underway and private. He is involved with a variety of Indian authorities, including:
Coinbase’s comeback research continues in the turbulent history of the South Asian market. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, resumed operations in India last August after registering with the FIU following a seven-month suspension of regulations. The move has established a precedent for foreign crypto exchanges seeking to operate in India.
Previous attempts to launch Coinbase’s service in India ended abruptly in 2022. The exchange began in April of that year with many fanfares and introduced support for the widely used United Payments Interface (UPI) system. The company had to suspend services just three days after the Indian national payments corporation overseeing UPI refused to approve Coinbase’s business.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong later revealed that the outfit was facing “unofficial pressure” from the Reserve Bank of India. Lenders are not illegal in India, according to many entrepreneurs, investors and other officials, but they have largely refused to do business with virtual assets companies in the country to avoid central bank upset.
The timing of a potential Coinbase renewal will depend on the time it takes to ensure the required approval, including a license to operate from FIU. The agency previously determined that many exchanges, including Kraken and Binance, are operating “illegally” in India. (Many of these companies have since been FIU compliant and require broader disclosure of user activity.)
“Coinbase is excited about the opportunity in the Indian market and intends to follow applicable regulatory requirements,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch, denying its update on FIU registrations.
Crypto Exchange’s interest in India comes in exploring a wider international expansion with each comment made by Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas at the recent Goldman Sachs conference.
Additionally, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal joined the board of directors of the US Indian Business Council, part of the US Chamber of Commerce.
“We are honored to be able to attend the USIBC Board of Directors to strengthen the bridge between India and the US in order to shape the future of finance,” he said in a statement shared by USIBC. “India has one of the world’s largest and fastest growing Web3 ecosystems, with a booming developer community, pioneering startups and bold institutional adoption. Since 2018, it has been global Web3 developers’ share quadrupled to 12%, making it the most growing among emerging markets.”
Despite India being a key overseas market for US tech giants, the crypto market remains small as local governments implemented 30% tax and 1% deduction on each transaction in 2022.
Re-entry into India will help fill the void left by the collapse of India’s exchange Wajirux after the company lost about half its reserves in robbery. Currently, Coinswitch and Coindcx are India’s top crypto exchanges, both backed by Coinbase.
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