Global crypto exchange Coinbase starts rolling out UPI payment options in India

On March 24, Indian crypto users noticed that the crypto exchange app Coinbase had included alternative payment options — UPI and IMPS — on the app. While Coinbase hasn't officially announced the alternative payment options, it did acknowledge the change briefly on its support page.

Since Coinbase hasn't made an official announcement regarding its UPI payments in the country, It is uncertain to figure out which Indian banks Coinbase have collaborated with to support UPI and IMPS payments.

In terms of volume of transactions, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is currently the country's most popular retail payment platform, with many small-scale vendors now accepting digital payments without the fear of technical complexity. The new Coinbase UPI payment option would enable users to transact through popular UPI gateways, making it convenient for users.

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With users onboarded from across the globe, Coinbase is now focusing on India and the company has been providing software to a number of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. The company's investment unit, Coinbase Ventures, has supported Indian crypto exchanges including CoinSwitch Kuber, and CoinDCX. In 2021, the company sponsored a cross-chain infra startup, Router Protocol.

The emergence of digital assets and cryptocurrencies has given boost to the crypto market, with the industry now approaching $3 trillion in value. Several global players including Binance, KuCoin, Coinstore, Luno, and Kraken are also eyeing the Indian market despite a lack of clarity over rules for the nascent industry in India.

Recently, the Minister of State for Finance put out a clarification in Lok Sabha regarding the taxation on virtual digital assets (VDA). The government announced that crypto traders now cannot balance the losses incurred from one virtual digital asset with profits of another virtual digital asset.

This announcement evoked strong reactions from players in the Indian cryptocurrency industry, some calling the move 'unfair and regressive'.