"After a pause of more than two years, crypto exchange Coinbase has opened its app for registration in India. At the moment, users are able to make crypto-to-crypto trades - but speaking at India Blockchain Week (IBW), Coinbase's APAC director John O'Loghlen said the company will open up a fiat on-ramp in 2026, allowing users in India to load money and buy crypto. Coinbase opened up its services in India in 2022, and within days had to shut down support for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment network."
""We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats [sic], have a clean slate here. As a commercial business person wanting to make money and active users, that's like the worst thing you can do, and so you know it wasn't without some hesitation," O'Loghlen said."
"The company started engaging with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a government agency that oversees transactions and fraud, and eventually registered with them this year. In October, it started to onboard users through early access, and now the app is open to all users. India levies a 30% tax on crypto income without any loss offset and also charges 1% deduction on each transaction, which could discourage users from trading frequently."
Coinbase reopened its app for registration in India after more than two years, currently allowing crypto-to-crypto trades. Coinbase plans to add a fiat on-ramp in 2026 to permit users to load money and buy crypto. The exchange initially entered India in 2022 but soon shut UPI support when NPCI declined to acknowledge its presence, then paused operations and asked users to offload accounts in 2023. Coinbase engaged with the Financial Intelligence Unit and registered this year, began early-access onboarding in October, and has now opened the app to all users. Strict Indian taxation and transaction deductions remain a barrier to frequent trading.
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