Coinbase seeks re-entry into India after regulatory setbacks: report

After a failed launch in 2022, Coinbase is now seeking approval from Indian regulators to restart its operations in the country.

More than a year after pulling out of India, Coinbase seems to be working on making a comeback. The U.S.-based crypto exchange is reportedly talking to Indian regulators, including the Financial Intelligence Unit, TechCrunch has learned, citing sources close to the matter.

Coinbase’s previous attempt to launch services in India ended in April 2022. The company introduced support for India’s popular UPI payment system but had to suspend operations just three days later. The National Payments Corporation of India refused to approve the crypto exchange’s services, and the Reserve Bank of India reportedly applied “informal pressure” to stop the exchange.

In September 2023, Coinbase even disabled new user sign-ups for its exchange product in India. The company clarified that it stopped exchange operations for some customers that didn’t align with the company’s updated standards.

Despite the challenges, Coinbase now seems to be looking to relaunch its services with the necessary regulations. The report notes that the exchange’s return could help fill the gap left by WazirX’s collapse, as two other local trading platforms, CoinSwitch and CoinDCX, are both backed by Coinbase.

Crypto trading is legal in India, but in 2022, the government imposed a 30% tax on crypto earnings and a 1% tax on transactions, which has slowed down market growth.