Coinbase intends to exit India due to the country’s challenging regulatory environment.
In a recent development, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that it would stop offering cryptocurrency trading services in India by the end of the month. The exchange notified Indian consumers via email about significant regulatory challenges.
Coinbase reportedly blocked consumers from signing on to the exchange and encouraged them to download the Coinbase Wallet. Coinbase will stop serving India on September 25. Indian users should likewise withdraw their cash, according to the exchange.
Following an 18-month effort to reestablish its services in the country, Coinbase has chosen to exit India. The company has struggled to get local consent despite its attempts. Two top executives, including Durgesh Kaushik, who joined as Senior Director for Market Expansion last year, have left due to this pressure.
Note that Coinbase invests in Indian crypto exchanges CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinCDX. Coinbase may leave India, but it keeps expanding. Coinbase revealed last week that it will lend crypto to US institutions.
Also Read: Coinbase Wallets Will No Longer Support XRP, BCH, XLM And ETC
Coinbase Faces Major Challenges In India
In 2022, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong flew to India to launch the cryptocurrency exchange. They were also quick to announce their support for India’s most popular payment platform, which is known as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Since the NPCI supervising UPI refused to accept Coinbase’s India debut, the exchange had to suspend integration soon after. Coinbase pledged to collaborate with NPCI and other authorities. It appears these things weren’t possible further.
Armstrong said Coinbase had to stop trading in India in May due to “informal pressure” from the Reserve Bank of India.. Armstrong stated that India had lately taxed bitcoin trading, which is lawful.
He did, however, point out that some officials, particularly those at the Reserve Bank of India, did not appear to have a positive opinion of cryptocurrencies. Accordingly, there have been reports of a “shadow ban” in which subdued pressure has been exerted behind the scenes to perhaps limit some cryptocurrency-related payments, particularly those made through the UPI system.
During the recent G20 meeting in India over the weekend, the countries shared a Leaders’ Declaration. All G20 nations supported the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) high-level crypto regulatory and oversight recommendations.