Last week, we reported that crypto exchange platform Coinbase started offering crypto services in India shortly after including support for payments to its platform for Indian users. The payments feature would allow Indian users to be able to perform both deposit and withdrawal transactions from/to their bank accounts and as a way of encouraging people to sign up to the platform, Coinbase said it would give a signup bonus of $2.65 to Indian users who joined the platform.
Coinbase has suspended its UPI payments on its app for users in India, once again the crypto service is not functional for users in India, the world’s second-largest internet market. Users who try to make purchases of listed tokens on the Coinbase app receive a displayed message that reads “currently unavailable”, and are being urged to try other payments methods. The Coinbase app, however, does not currently support other payments methods according to users who have tried to make purchases using these other methods. Coinbase’s support page also says that other payment methods are not supported in India.
Coinbase’s recent action – suspending the newly launched payment option in India – comes after a statement from the country’s National Payments Corporation. This body oversees Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the country. The governing body said that it was oblivious about crypto exchanges using UPI payments instruments.
Coinbase has, however, put out a statement saying it is willing and devoted to working with the regulatory body as well as other relevant bodies as it is experimenting with other payments methods that it plans on launching in India.
Last week, when Coinbase launched the new payments instruments, its CEO Brian Armstrong said the company is placing a long-term bet on the world’s second-largest internet market. He added that Coinbase has made investments worth $150 million in Indian startups and plans to make more investments this year.
Last week’s move by Coinbase would have helped the exchange platform solidify its presence in the world’s second-largest internet market. Coinbase is yet to say what its next move is but says it will be working with Indian authorities.
It is relevant to know that Coinbase is a backer of two of India’s biggest crypto exchanges in the country – CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber.
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