Coinbase Starts Crypto Trading Services in India

April 8, 2022 India Blockchain

The announcement was made at an event in India’s tech hub Bengaluru.

Coinbase (COIN) has now made its crypto trading services available to users in India, the firm said on Thursday.

The exchange’s app will now be active in the country, the firm said at an event in India’s tech hub, Bengaluru. Coinbase is the world’s second-largest exchange by trade volume.

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, who has been in India over the last few weeks announced that the company is making “a long-term investment” in India. The firm’s Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee later demonstrated user onboarding on the exchange.

The announcement comes at a time when India has announced stiff new crypto taxes. The law includes a 30% tax on profits from crypto transactions, which came into effect on April 1, and a controversial 1% tax deducted at source (TDS), which will be effective from July 1.

Armstrong acknowledged the regulatory challenge in promoting the technology to mass acceptance at a time when enthusiasm has dipped due to the new tax law. “We know it’s not going to be a straight shot to bring this technology. We don’t know exactly how it’s going to evolve. But we’re committed to working with bank partners, regulators [and] most importantly, the Indian people because they’ve shown a real spark of interest in cryptocurrency, and there’s a real desire to get access to some of these services and products,” he said.