CoinDCX

Binance chief says crypto exchange doesn’t currently see a viable business in India • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in Binance, CoinDCX, Coinswitch Kuber, Crypto, indiaNo Comments

Scores of crypto-focused venture capital firms have raced to India in the past two years, hoping to turn the world’s second largest internet market’s large developer community into a key web3 power house. But what does Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, arguably the most powerful and influential figure in the crypto industry, think about the potential of India? Not much, as of today. “To be honest, I don’t think India is a very crypto-friendly environment,” said Zhao at ZebethMedia Crypto conference Thursday. Zhao is not alone with such grim view about the Indian market. Dozens of investors and startup entrepreneurs I have spoken to have privately shared similar concerns, but Zhao’s comment is remarkable because nobody else with such stature has publicly expressed such view. Zhao blamed the country’s high tax environment for making the market not so viable for global players. “If you are going to tax 1% on each transaction, there is not going to be that many transactions,” he said. To be sure, Binance, by far the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, is operational for users in India. “A user could trade 50 times a day and they will lose like 70% of their money. There is not going to be any volume for an order book type of exchange. So we don’t see a viable business in India today. We just have to wait. We are in conversation with a number of industry associations and influential people and trying to put some logic there,” he said, adding that charging a high tax on each transaction is resulting in lower tax accumulation broadly. “We are trying to get this message across, but tax policies typically take long time to change,” Zhao cautioned. “Binance goes to countries where regulations are pro-crypto and pro-business. We don’t go to countries where we won’t have a sustainable business — or any business, regardless of whether or not we go.” Zhao dismissed any concerns that the firm is seeing less potential in India because of the troubled deal deliberations with local exchange WazirX. India enforced a law earlier this year for taxing virtual currencies. It is taxing income from the transfer of any virtual assets at 30%. To capture details of all such crypto transactions, New Delhi is taking away a 1% tax deduction at source on payments made related to purchase of virtual assets. The nation’s move, alongside the market downturn, has brutally wiped the transactions local exchanges CoinSwitch Kuber, backed by Sequoia India and Andreessen Horowitz, and CoinDCX, backed by Pantera, observe on their platforms. WazirX was processing volumes of about $500 million a day during the peak crypto bull cycle of last year. The figure had dropped below $5 million as of a month ago, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Other global exchanges have attempted to make a push in India. Coinbase, which has backed both CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber, launched its crypto platform in the country earlier this year but quickly rolled back the service amid regulatory scare. Coinbase co-founder and chief executive Brian Armstrong said in May that the firm disabled Coinbase’s support for local payments infra UPI “because of some informal pressure from the [central bank] Reserve Bank of India.”

Coinbase and Polygon back new crypto advocacy group in India • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 3, 2022Posted in coinbase, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, Crypto, india, Polygon, WazirXNo Comments

Top crypto firms including Coinbase and Polygon are among the firms that have formed an industry body in India to promote dialogue between key stakeholders and drive awareness about web3, months after the largest local crypto advocacy group was disbanded. Members of the new industry body, named Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), include top local crypto exchanges including CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber and WazirX. It also includes Hike, Biconomy, ZebPay and Tax Nodes, BWA said in a statement. “India’s Web 3.0 potential – in terms of talent, investment, and innovation – is revolutionary, and will surely place the nation as a global leader in this fast-emerging field,” said Nana Murugesan, Vice President of International and Business Development at Coinbase, in a statement. “We support the BWA’s mission of boosting the Web 3.0 ecosystem through stakeholder collaboration, thought leadership, and education. Building robust infrastructure and designing the favourable environment can allow players like Coinbase to build a more free, open and safer Internet.” Murugesan and several other Coinbase executives are in India currently, where they have spent the last few days holding dialogue with key ministers, a person familiar with the matter told ZebethMedia. Coinbase had an unsuccessful launch in India earlier this year after it rolled back the service in the launch week itself after a regulatory body expressed concerns. Dialogues between Coinbase and government officials have yet to move the needle about the restoration of the service in the country, the person said, requesting anonymity speaking private matters. Bharat Web3 Association will also seek to chalk up standardised principles for the web3 industry and help nurture India’s talent pool. The Indian central bank continues to force the hand of banks from engaging with crypto platforms in India, a move that has made on-ramp a nightmare for the firms involved, people familiar with the matter said. Many investors and entrepreneurs in the country have been scrambling for months to find newer, more effective ways including engaging with Niti Aayog, a powerful think tank, to liaison with policymakers, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Niti Aayog resisted getting involved with the crypto industry, sources added. Indian lawmakers, on their part, have met several industry faces in the past one year, but so far they are of the view that the fast adoption of crypto trading has hurt most consumers and more safeguards should be put in place, the sources said. In the wake of the uncertainty, the local ecosystem has seen some talent move outside of the country and a growing number of local entrepreneurs build for the foreign markets and avoid serving customers in India, the world’s second-largest internet market. The local industry was previously represented by the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council, part of the influential technology lobby group Internet and Mobile Association of India in the country. The advocacy group said in July that it was dissolving the crypto unit because “a resolution of the regulatory environment for the industry is still very uncertain.” The move was the culmination of years of frustration for the Indian crypto industry, which felt that the lobby group’s influence and reach had been unable to deliver landmark results, ZebethMedia previously reported, citing sources. “Owing to its thriving developer community, entrepreneurial spirit, fast-growing economy, sound digital infrastructure, and deep digital adoption, India is poised to become a leader in the Web3 space,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, in a statement. “Indian entrepreneurs have already made a mark in the ecosystem and are innovating for the world, developing valuable public use cases. BWA will play a pivotal role in helping India achieve its potential as a global Web3 leader.”