Coinbase Ventures vs. local regulators, the Indian crypto community has its eyes on how Coinbase will deal with local regulators to break into the Indian market after its recent decision to suspend crypto payment services.
On 11 April, Coinbase Ventures suddenly suspended its crypto payment services in India, following the NPCI’s statement on its refusal to recognize any crypto exchanges using UPI.
Coinbase is America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, while Coinbase Ventures is an investment arm of the company. With the increasing transactions in cryptocurrency, the company announced it would launch its crypto payment services in the South Asian continent, starting in India.
However, three days later after the launch, it became a total failure due to the local regulators. Coinbase Ventures was forced to suspend its services immediately.
The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is responsible for regulating UPI or United Payments Interface in the country. UPI is the main source that Indian Coinbase can use to establish payment services.
When Coinbase Ventures announced its plan to expand in the Indian market, NPCI released a statement in response to media concerns:
After that, Coinbase Ventures announced the suspension of services, saying it would first negotiate with the regulators and then resume the services. The company is “committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure that we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms.”
The crypto community expresses concerns regarding this suspension and its struggles to deal with its payment services. According to Aditya Singh, a big YouTuber host in India:
The community hopes to see the continuation of the payment services after successful negotiations with the local regulators.
It is up to Coinbase Ventures how it deals with this problem and completes its investment projects for the development of the Web3 industry and Indian crypto.
