Coinbase Makes Massive India Move After Regulatory Comeback

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Coinbase has expanded its presence in India by launching direct Indian rupee (INR) banking rails, which allows customers to move money between bank accounts and the exchange without relying on peer-to-peer networks or third-party intermediaries. The move comes months after the company resumed operations in the country and highlights India’s growing importance to global crypto exchanges. It also signals Coinbase’s intention to compete more aggressively in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing crypto markets.

Coinbase Makes a Bigger Bet on India

According to a May 31 press release by Coinbase, Indian users can now deposit and withdraw rupees directly through the country’s Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), which gives customers a more streamlined way to move funds on and off the platform.

Coinbase has also launched dedicated INR order books, creating direct liquidity pools for local traders instead of routing activity through other currency pairs. The exchange said Indian users will continue to have access to spot trading, perpetual futures contracts, and Coinbase Advanced, which includes professional trading tools and real-time market data streams.

The launch follows Coinbase’s registration with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND), which oversees anti-money laundering compliance and monitors suspicious financial activity.

John O’Loghlen, Coinbase’s head of Asia-Pacific, described India as one of the most important crypto markets globally due to its developer talent, trading activity, and wider blockchain adoption:

“India has long been one of the most important markets in crypto, in terms of developer talent, trading activity, and the broader adoption of blockchain technology. We’ve been paying attention for a while. (…) We registered with FIU-IND and comply with all Indian taxation law requirements, because we’re here for the long term.”

India’s Importance to Global Crypto Exchanges

India has become one of the most strategically important regions for the crypto industry despite years of regulatory uncertainty.

The country is home to one of the world’s largest pools of blockchain developers and consistently ranks among the highest markets for crypto adoption and trading activity. At the same time, regulatory hurdles have pushed several international exchanges to scale back or pause operations in previous years.

Coinbase appears determined to reverse that trend. The company resumed onboarding Indian users in late 2025 after a multi-year absence and has continued investing in the local ecosystem. Through its Base Ethereum Layer-2 network, Coinbase says it has committed more than $1 million to supporting builders and developers in India. It is also an investor in local crypto exchange CoinDCX.

The introduction of direct INR rails removes a major obstacle for users and could help Coinbase capture a larger share of Indian crypto trading activity as competition among global exchanges intensifies across Asia.