Crypto platform Coinswitch to offer Indian stocks trading, compete with Zerodha, Upstox: Report

Indian cryptocurrency investment platform CoinSwitch is considering entering the Indian stock trading market and compete with tech-driven brokerage firms like Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, and Paytm Money, as per a report by The Economic Times.

The Andreesen Horowitz-backed platform reportedly intends to apply for a stockbroker licence with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and is in discussions with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks to offer fixed deposits.

The report added that Coinswitch focused on Indian stocks due to delays in its plan to provide trading and investment in US stocks.

The delay was caused by the Budget 2023, which raised the tax collected at the source (TCS) for foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for retail investors investing in US equity instruments.

Coinswitch plans to share details about the application for a stockbroker licence with SEBI when announcing its new products.

For several months, Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and CEO, Coinswitch, has maintained that the company plans to offer financial products besides crypto.

While publishing the platform's proof of reserves report in January 2023, Singhal had said the firm will "make our processes and systems crystal-clear for users as we look to build a wealth-tech destination."