Coinbase INR Crypto Trading: Coinbase bets big on Crypto, Web3 future in India, allows users to buy tokens with INR
Betting big on the future of crypto and Web3 in India, international crypto asset exchange Coinbase has now allowed Indian users to buy their favourite tokens on its app with Indian currency (INR).
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the feature allowing its app users to buy crypto with INR at an event in Bengaluru on Thursday (April 7, 2022). Armstrong also said that customers can use UPI to directly buy crypto with INR on the app. As many as 157 crypto assets will be available to buyers on Coinbase app on day 1.
Coinbase has allowed buying and selling crypto with INR at a time when there are fears that the proposed 1% TDS will eventually kill crypto trading in the country. The Government has also imposed 30% tax on income from crypto and other virtual digital assets in India. This is likely to further keep new investors away from crypto.
However, Coinbase officials said they are in India for a long-term, with 10-20 years time horizon.
“We have just started our experiment. Our commitment is long-term. It is going to be a long journey. We want to be humble, respectful and bring the technology in a trustworthy way,” Surojit Chatterjee, Chief Product Officer at Coinbase said.
Most of the banks currently do not allow Indian customers to use their accounts to buy crypto. Reacting to the query on how Coinbase is going to work around this, Chatterjee said they are in talks with various partners to make it easy to buy crypto by paying in INR through UPI. He also said that Coinbase will follow all legal and regulatory norms while enabling users to buy crypto in easy and trustworthy way.
Coinbase had been experimenting with UPI rollout for a few users on its platform for some time.
While addressing the event, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also announced the company’s amibitious plans to hire 1000 employees in India this year. Coinbase is offering “remote-first” jobs where visting office for work will always be optional for the employees
Coinbase has 300 full-time employees in India at present, with around 30-35% of them based in Bengaluru.
