Global Crypto Exchange Binance In Search Of ‘Ideal Point’ For India Launch

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is seeking an ‘ideal point’ for its India launch. The global exchange is also monitoring the changes in the Indian regulatory environment.

Further, Binance is in talks with different stakeholders to understand the approach strategy for the South Asia market in a compliant manner, Coindesk reported. 

The exchange has reportedly shown hiring interest in the South Asian region across roles including communication, content marketing and government relations.

Earlier, Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance said in an interview with Inc42 that India will be fundamentally important in the crypto narrative. “India is a huge market, as well as a leader in technology, and therefore will be a natural frontrunner for Web 3.0 startups,” Zhao said.

Back in 2019, Binance had acquired the Indian crypto exchange WazirX. The acquisition provided an option for users to buy and sell crypto with Indian rupees (INR) on the Binance Fiat Gateway.

It is interesting to note that another global exchange Coinbase made its India entry in April this year, only to halt the trading in the market within three days. Later in an earnings call, Coinbase’s CEO and cofounder Brian Armstrong cited the ‘informal pressure’ from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the exchange stopping payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India. 

At a moment when stakeholders in the Indian crypto industry are staring at a difficult time with new tax rule, payment mechanism issues, Binance’s entry in India could be a boost for the industry. While industry has been fearing a brain drain, world’s biggest crypto exchange’s interest in the Indian market definitely could be a positive sign.

According to a Chainalysis report, India’s crypto market grew 641% from 2020 to 2021, turning India into one of the largest-growing cryptocurrency markets. In addition, more than 350 blockchain startups were operational in India in 2021, an Inc42 analysis found. 

“More than 10 crore (100 million) Indians own cryptocurrency according to industry reports, and we can tell that mass adoption of crypto is happening in India. With strong industry players on [the] ground, making investments in the country’s industry, India can become one of the hubs for crypto industry,” a Binace spokesperson said as per the Coindesk report.

Other than the local regulatory hurdles, the global crypto industry is also going through a testing time for the last few weeks. The constant decline in Bitcoin’s price, the crash of Stablecoins have created a negative sentiment amid users also. 

Among major Indian exchanges, WazirX’s trading volume declined 42% between May 13-17, while crypto exchange CoinDCX saw its volume dropping by 61% during the same period.