Coinbase Halts Operations in India Due to Regulatory Challenges

Armstrong stated that Coinbase had to suspend its trading service in India due to "unofficial pressure" from the RBI.

New Delhi: Facing regulatory hurdles in India, global cryptocurrency platform Coinbase reportedly plans to end all services for its users in the country later this month.

Coinbase Co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong visited India last year and had questioned “informal restrictions” on crypto trading by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

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Armstrong had claimed that Coinbase had to halt the trading service in India because of “informal pressure” from the RBI.

According to a TechCrunch report, the crypto exchange has now warned customers in India that “it will be discontinuing services for them after September 25 and advising them to withdraw any funds they have in their accounts”.

Coinbase has also disabled users in India from signing up to its exchange, and asking them to download Coinbase Wallet, the report said on Monday.

The crypto company had launched its exchange services in India in May last year but had to shut payments via UPI after the informal RBI restrictions.

Several banks had disabled UPI options for crypto-related payments following “verbal instructions” from the NPCI.

At the just-concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the G20 will take the call on regulation or outright banning crypto assets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said at the mega event that crypto currency has emerged as a new topic for social order, monetary and financial stability.

“We need to develop global standards to regulate crypto currencies, and to do this we have the model of Basel standards on banking regulations before us,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday.