Coinbase to halt India ops, tells users to withdraw funds: Report

In an email to users, the cryptocurrency exchange said that it will discontinue its services in the country after September 25, and advised users to withdraw any funds held within their accounts.

Coinbase to halt India ops, tells users to withdraw funds: Report

Monday September 11, 2023,

2 min Read

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on Monday told its India users that it would cease operations in the country.

In an email to users, the exchange said that it will discontinue its services in the country after September 25, and advised users to withdraw any funds held within their accounts, The Economic Times reported. Users have also been given the option to transfer funds to other crypto wallets or services, including Coinbase Wallet, as per the report.

YourStory was unable to independently verify this report. Queries sent to Coinbase remain unanswered at time of publishing this article. The report will be updated to reflect the exchange's response.

As per Economic Times' report, a Coinbase executive said that some accounts did not meet the exchange's standards. However, the same executive declined to mention what the updated standards are for the publication.

Coinbase entered the Indian market in April last year with a feature to buy crypto using UPI, only to shut the service a few days later after it received pressure from India's financial regulators.

In June this year, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, had said it would cut 950 jobs, primarily from projects that have a "low probability of success".

Following the collapse of FTX, cryptocurrency exchanges have struggled to hold their volumes. Several exchanges, including Coinbase-backed CoinDCX, resorted to laying off about 12% of its workforce. The Indian exchange cited harsh economic conditions and challenging times for startups as a reason for the move.


Edited by Megha Reddy