The US firm plans to roll out its retail trading platform in India later this year, with additional investment and product offerings to follow, according to a Tuesday statement.
This is Coinbase’s second attempt to expand into India. In 2022, the company had integrated with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to allow customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using rupees. But just three days into the launch, Coinbase disabled the service after the entity that runs UPI said it was “not aware” of any digital-assets exchange using the network.
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“India represents one of the most exciting market opportunities in the world today, and we’re proud to deepen our investment here in full compliance with local regulations,” said John O’Loghlen, Coinbase’s regional managing director for APAC, in the statement.
According to Coinbase, India’s share of global blockchain developers has jumped from 3% in 2018 to 12% in 2023, giving the country the highest concentration of such specialists among emerging markets and singling it out as a strategic priority for the exchange operator.
India in 2022 rolled out a tax regime that enforced a 30% levy on any income from digital assets and a 1% tax deduction at source (TDS) as regulators grew wary of crypto. Domestic trading volumes dried up as high frequency traders and market makers fled local exchanges.
Coinbase now joins exchange rivals including Binance, Bybit and KuCoin in registering with the FIU to offer trading services in India despite its punitive tax regime.
(Edited by : Sheersh Kapoor)
