The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed that it halted operation in India a few days after launch due to “informal pressure” from the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says CEO Brian Armstrong.
Coinbase India Experience
Coinbase Global provided an update on its Indian operation during the company’s earnings call Tuesday, particularly why it exited the Indian crypto market a few days after launch.
Anil Gupta, vice president of Investors Relations at Coinbase, asked CEO Brian Armstrong: “Some shareholders are curious about the recent developments in India. Is it possible to explain why UPI has stopped working? [Unified Payments Interface]Transfers there And what impact will that have on your expansion plans in the market?”
Coinbase was launched in India by Armstrong on April 7. Armstrong traveled to India in support of the launch. According to the company, users would be able to use UPI for the purchase of cryptocurrencies through the platform. The UPI option was removed by the company just a few more days.
“There’s a lot of interest in crypto amongst the people there in India. So we had an integration with what’s called UPI. And this was a great example of just our international strategy,” Armstrong said during the earnings call. He elaborated:
We had to disable UPI just a few days after we launched it due to informal pressures from the Reserve Bank of India. This is essentially the equivalent of Treasury.
“And India is a unique market, in the sense that the supreme court has ruled that they can’t ban crypto, but there are elements in the government there, including at Reserve Bank of India, who don’t seem to be as positive on it,” the Coinbase boss opined.
Armstrong noted that what the RBI is doing has been described as a “shadow ban” by the media. “Basically, they’re applying soft pressure behind the scenes to try to disable some of these payments, which might be going through UPI,” he detailed.
The Coinbase executive further said: “I guess we have a concern that they may be actually in violation of the supreme court ruling, which would be interesting to find out if it were to go there.”
He continued: “But I think our preference is really just to work with them and focus on relaunching. I think there’s a number of paths that we have to relaunch with other payment methods there. And that’s the default path going forward. Armstrong concluded his remarks:
My hope is that we will be live back in India in relatively short order, along with a number of other countries, where we’re pursuing international expansion similarly.
What do you think about Coinbase’s experience in India? Please leave your comments below.
Images CreditsShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons
DisclaimerThis article serves informational purposes. This is not an invitation to purchase or sell directly, nor a suggestion or endorsement of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com is not a provider of investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. This article does not contain any information, products, or advice that can be used to cause or alleged result in any kind of damage.
