Coinbase is Expanding in India with a Focus on Web3 and Crypto

Coinbase is Expanding in India with a Focus on Web3 and Crypto

 

Coinbase is focusing on growing the crypto and Web3 ecosystems in India. "Combined with India’s world-class software talent, we believe that crypto and web3 technology can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals," said CEO Brian Armstrong.

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, revealed its plan for India on Monday. "India has built a robust identity and digital payments infrastructure and has implemented it at a rapid scale and speed," the CEO, Brian Armstrong, described, adding:

India has world-class software talent. We believe that crypto and web3 technology can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals.

The CEO continued:

At Coinbase, we believe that crypto is the best tool that exists to advance our mission of increasing economic freedom in the world. But for crypto to reach its potential, it needs to be easy for anyone, anywhere in the world, to use it. That’s why we’re excited to be in India this week.

India has built a robust identity and digital payments infrastructure and implemented it at rapid scale and speed. Combined with India’s world-class software talent, we believe that crypto and web3 technology can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals.

Coinbase Ventures has already invested $150 million in home-grown Indian technology companies in the crypto and web3 spaces, and is constantly identifying new opportunities to help Indian founders scale. Coinbase’s Indian tech hub was launched last year and already has over 300 full-time employees across India’s states and regions.

We are excited to tap into the dynamic Indian software talent to build out our products and will continue to invest heavily in our India hub. We have ambitious plans for India and seek to hire over 1,000 people in our India hub this year alone.

Coinbase will also be hosting a "crypto community event" in Bangalore on Thursday to "discuss the future of crypto and web3 in India," Armstrong said.

"On a personal note, I’ve spent the last week touring India, visiting the sites and meeting the amazing people. This week, I’ll be joining members of our executive team as we meet with students from top universities, crypto founders, Indian entrepreneurs, and crypto evangelists," the CEO added.

India is a magical place, and I believe crypto has a big future here. We’re excited to help build that future, and this event is an important step.

The Indian government is currently working on the country’s crypto policy. Officials from the Indian ministry of finance are consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and India’s central bank on a crypto framework.

In addition, India began taxing income from cryptocurrency at 30% without allowing loss offsets or deductions on April 1. Since then, crypto trading volumes at exchanges have plummeted. A 1% tax, deducted at source (TDS), will also be levied on crypto transactions from July 1.