Coinbase Keen on Exploring Crypto and Web3 Ecosystem in India

The Indian government may not be planning a cryptocurrency law soon to either regulate or tighten provisions, but that has not deterred global crypto exchange Coinbase’s “ambitious” plans to boost digital asset and Web3 initiatives in the country.

In the latest blog post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that the platform intends to tap the software talent in the crypto and web3 technology space that can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals.

• As part of Coinbase’s “ambitious plans,” Armstrong announced hosting a crypto community event in Bangalore on April 7th to discuss the future of Crypto and Web3 in India.

“Coinbase’s Indian tech hub was launched last year and already has over 300 full time employees across India’s state 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.”

• Armstrong also informed that the exchange plans to onboard 1,000 people in its India hub this year alone.
• Coinbase Ventures – the investment arm of the cryptocurrency exchange – has reportedly infused a total of $150 million in home-grown tech firms in the crypto and Web3 space.
• The corporate venture arm has backed Indian crypto unicorns – CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber.
• The exchange also acquired India-based AI-powered customer support platform Agara in November last year.
• The Nasdaq-listed platform started adding support for payment instruments UPI and IMPS in India last month. The announcement of the support briefly appeared on its website, but it has since been taken down, and the actual scale of the launch remains unclear.
• Coinbase’s latest event comes at a time when many players in the country are calling out the government for imposing heavy taxation and “suppressing” the nascent industry.