Key Takeaways
- Coinbase has opened up its exchange to Indian users for the first time since 2023.
- The American exchange follows Binance, which relaunched in India last year.
- Other platforms are already lining up at the door.
A year after Binance relaunched in India, Coinbase is following suit, as the country’s crypto-skeptic regulators grant global exchanges access to the domestic market.
Other major players also see an opportunity.
Now that the door is open, some of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges have formed a queue.
Coinbase Returns to India
Coinbase initially entered the Indian market with optimism in April 2022, launching its exchange app with fiat integration via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
However, just days after launch, UPI support was disabled following pressure from regulators, leading Coinbase to wind down its operations in the country.
By September 2023, the exchange had halted all services for Indian users, asked customers to withdraw their funds, and suspended new signups.
After two years in exile, Coinbase registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) earlier this year, a crucial step that had paved the way for Binance to reenter the country several months earlier.
In October, the Coinbase app quietly on-boarded its first new Indian users since 2023, and has since opened up access more broadly, according to a report by TechCrunch on Sunday, Dec. 7.
While trading is currently limited to crypto pairs, local currency support is expected to launch in 2026, according to Coinbase’s APAC director, John O’Loghlen, who told the publication.
Kraken and Bitget Eye Indian Market
Binance and Coinbase aren’t the only global exchanges with their sights on India’s crypto market.
After paying a million-dollar FIU penalty for anti-money laundering violations, Bybit restored full access for Indian users in September.
Meanwhile, Kraken, which shut down its operations in the country last year, is actively planning its Indian comeback.
The American company has recruited a local advisor and is seeking to engage with authorities to secure the relevant approvals, The Economic Times reported in February.
Finally, Bitget is in the process of registering with the FIU and expects to receive approval in 2026, according to Ignacio Aguirre Franco, Chief Marketing Officer.
A $15 Billion Opportunity
As global exchanges jostle for position, India’s crypto market has all the right ingredients for significant growth.
Fueled by a large population of increasingly digital young people, the country has ranked first in Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index for the last three years.
From around $2.6 billion in 2025, India’s crypto market is projected to reach $15 billion in the next decade.
Although the Reserve Bank of India and financial regulators continue to enforce strict controls on the sector, which is viewed with skepticism by senior officials, recent developments at the FIU suggest the previous crackdown that forced platforms to exit the Indian market has now been lifted.
Top Trending Crypto Articles
James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
