Coinbase Debuts Crypto Trading In India, To Support Widely Popular UPI Payments

American cryptocurrency exchange desk Coinbase COIN today launched its cryptocurrency trading services in India at an event in Bengaluru.

The company had been experimenting with UPI (Unified Payment Interface), one of the most popular modes of payment in India, one that has seen drastic growth in the past few years. In the financial year 2021-22, payments worth $1.09 trillion were processed through the UPI, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data.

Coinbase rolled out UPI payments for some of its users with a "Join UPI waitlist" on its platform and said that it is working to broaden its product offerings in the country. At the event, the company executive said the users in India would be able to top money to and withdraw from their wallets using the UPI network.

The company did not disclose the names of its banking partners for the UPI payments rollout.

"While working on the UPI, I saw the power of open and Interoperable networks that can spur innovation; when Coinbase announced the tech hub in India, it excited me," said Pankaj Gupta, VP of Engineering and India Site Lead of Coinbase. 

Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, in a blog post, has announced that the company has ambitious plans for India and seeks to hire over 1,000 people in our India hub this year alone.

The company, which enables the trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD and Dogecoin DOGE/USD will compete against Indian cryptocurrency trading platforms WazirX, CoinDCX, and Zebpay.

The company, through its corporate venture arm, Coinbase Ventures, has invested in Indian cryptocurrency trading platforms CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber. The company, through its corporate venture arm, Coinbase Ventures, has also invested in CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber.

Photo: Courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr