Coinbase users will be able to use the app until September 25 to withdraw remaining funds. The platform is also halting new user sign-ups.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 11, 2023 11:57 IST
Cryptocurrency exchange firm Coinbase has announced plans to discontinue services in India amid stricter regulations in the country against cryptocurrencies. According to a warning email to users and as reported by The Economic Times, Coinbase users will be able to use the app until September 25 to withdraw remaining funds. The platform is also halting new user sign-ups. Users started receiving emails on Sunday, September 11.
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A spokesperson also confirmed the development to the publication. The report, quoting the spokesperson, notes, "It is possible that during the course of a recent routine review of our systems, some accounts may have been identified that no longer meet our updated standards. We will therefore be disabling these accounts, and allow customers to update their information at a later date." The company adds that it will continue to "raise the bar" by first disabling legacy accounts.
Coinbase has not provided information about the "updated standards." Notably, this comes months after Coinbase hired Durgesh Kaushik, the former head of Snap India, as senior director for market expansion.
Coinbase launched in the country in April last year with an option to let users buy crypto (Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum) via UPI. Days after the launch, the company was forced to shut down the UPI payment option due to the government's interference. Instead, users could buy crypto via other payment options. UPI is managed by the National Payments Corporation of India. Around the same time, the government had also announced rules to impose a 30 per cent tax on income via crypto.
A month after halting the UPI payment option, Coinbase co-founder and CEO, Brian Armstrong, suggested that the action was a result of informal pressure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He also said that cryptocurrency trading is not illegal in India but suggested that "elements in the government" added "soft pressure."
Notably, during the recently concluded G20 meeting in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched up on drafting a framework for cryptocurrencies to operate.
PM Modi added, "We need to develop global standards to regulate cryptocurrencies and to do this, we have the model of Basel standards on banking regulations before us." However, he stressed that "if an organisation doesn't change with time, it loses its relevance."
Earlier in January, Coinbase announced plans to halt its operations in Japan due to similar pressure from the government.
Published By:
Abhik Sengupta
Published On:
Sep 11, 2023
