Courtesy: https://www.coinbase.com/
- Coinbase is expanding aggressively, with the latest target being India where it’s enticing new employees with $1,000 when they join.
- However, one U.S firm, which has shot into fame for its role in El Salvador’s Bitcoin move, is out to finally bring Coinbase’s dominance to an abrupt end.
Coinbase has continued to dominate in the U.S, being the channel many newbies get into crypto through. Now, the exchange is expanding globally, with India and Germany on its radar. In the former, new recruits are getting a $1,000 bonus for joining the exchange. However, one U.S firm believes that it can bring this dominance to an end, or at least put a sizeable dent.
Coinbase expands to India, lures top talent with $1,000 bonus
India is the world’s second-most populous nation, with close to $1.4 billion people. It has, surprisingly, lagged behind in crypto, thanks in part to draconian laws. However, despite this, exchanges like market leader CoinDCX and upcoming WazirX have shown the great potential the country has.
And now, they’ll be joined by American giant Coinbase.
In a recent blog post, Pankaj Gupta, the site lead for Coinbase India, dived into the exchange’s plans and what the future holds. According to him, the exchange is set to hire hundreds of engineers and engage in acquisitions to grow in India.
The most interesting revelation was that Coinbase would offer a sizeable bonus to those that join it.
As a product-led company, it’s important that our new hires in India truly understand the products and services that they are helping to deliver. That’s why we’re introducing a new program called CIkka — short for “Coinbase India Sikka” — offering each new employee in India a one-time $1000 in crypto when they start.
This ought to motivate the new hires to put their expertise to use and redefine crypto in India, the exchange believes.
Coinbase debuts in India at an interesting time. On one hand, it has never been more promising for crypto. According to Bloomberg data, the crypto sector in India has shot up from just under a billion in April last year to $6.6 billion last month.
On the other hand, regulators have continued to be anti-crypto in India. The Reserve Bank of India has clamped down against the sector for years now. In addition, reports claim that the government is looking at a complete ban for the sector.
Also Read: Coinbase will list every token, CEO says as Binance is banned in the U.K
Using Coinbase is supporting sh*tcoins – says Strike CEO
While Coinbase expands globally, its home turf may be under a new threat. Jack Mallers, the CEO of Strike, a Chicago-based BTC payments company, has declared war on Coinbase. Strike has been pioneering Lightning Network payments, and shot into even more fame for its involvement in El Salvador’s move to make Bitcoin legal tender.
Strike will allow its clients in the U.S to buy and sell Bitcoin for almost zero fees.
“It’s unclear if Coinbase can attempt to compete on fees, even if they wanted to,” he commented.
The outspoken CEO went further, tapping into the emotions of Bitcoin maximalists. He stated:
Make no mistake, when you buy bitcoin on Coinbase, you are supporting sh*tcoins.