- Singapore-based Coinstore has announced plans to enter the India market.
- Its competitor CrossTower had also entered India in September.
- Coinbase is setting up its offices in the country and has been on an aggressive hiring spree since July.
Despite rumours of a
possible ban, Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinstore has decided to enter India. It has launched the web and mobile versions of its platforms in the country, and plans to start a branch each in Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai, according to a
Reuters’ report.
#Cryptocurrency exchange #Coinstore enters #India despite pending curbs on trade: https://t.co/6oltKCMEyp ✅… https://t.co/VHJXK8TDQR
— Coinstore (@coinstore_en) 1638155949000
Coinstore’s entry into India follows in the footsteps of other global crypto giants like
Coinbase and
CrossTower looking to capitalise on the large base of investors in the country — estimated to be between 15 to 20 million by the industry.
“With nearly a quarter of our total active users coming from India, it made sense for us to expand into the market,” Charles Tan, head of marketing at Coinstore, told Reuters. He also said that the company plans to recruit 100 employees in India and spend about $20 million for marketing, hiring and development of the business in the country.
The Indian government is expected to table its
bill on cryptocurrencies at the Winter Session of the Lok Sabha, which has kicked off today. The government has listed the bill on the agenda for the session asone which seeks to “prohibit private cryptocurrencies” in the country. While experts opine that a ban wouldn’t be the right move for India, the announcement led to
panic selling in Indian crypto markets.
“India has a huge potential to become a global leader in this technology. If India closes the avenues for crypto, it will be cut off like Nigeria. Being a digital-first country, this innovative technology needs the framework India provides to expand,” Vikas Ahuja, CEO of
Competition galore
India’s cryptocurrency market has been growing exponentially over the past one year. According to crypto exchange WazirX founder, Nishcal Shetty, the country
has around 20 million crypto users.It is the largest exchange in the country in terms of trading volumes.
The country has also produced two billion dollar crypto startups — ‘unicorns’ — CoinDCX and Coinswitch Kuber, both of which announced their new milestones within the past few months. Coinswitch Kuber is also the first company in India to receive funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz.
While CoinSwitch and CoinDCX have investments from global crypto giant Coinbase, WazirX is owned by Binance. Coinstore will also have to contend with smaller exchanges, like Giottus Cryptocurrency and many more. Seychelles-based OKEx had also entered India earlier this year, while Singapore-based CrossTower entered the country in September.
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FUD takes over Indian crypto markets after government lists crypto bill for discussion
Experts fear that a ‘ban’ on crypto in India will only drive investors to the grey market