Coinbase, US’s largest crypto exchange, halted payment services for Indian users through United Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform. This comes just three days after its launch in India. Coinbase had updated its payment method information on its portal for Indian users. It urges users to try Immediate Payment Service (IMP) to place sell orders.
The American platform is working to remedy the situation in India with the appropriate regulators. Coinbase said it is committed to working with the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and other relevant authorities to ensure that it is aligned with local expectations and industry norms.
On Thursday, the NPCI said it did not recognize the legal standing of any crypto exchanges using the Reserve Bank of India’s UPI. This was even after Coinbase announced the release of its services. Coinbase suspending its services to Indian users comes after the NPCI in an official statement said it was not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI.
Aditya Singh, the co-founder of the Crypto India YouTube channel, tweeted that this wasn’t new. He highlighted that Indian exchanges have also been facing payment service problems since 2018. Singh pointed out that actual gambling apps get proper payment support whilst crypto exchanges are being pushed away.
Indian crypto traders seem to be accustomed to instability in trading service accessibility. It should be noted that it took some time for the Indian government to adopt a suitable regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. Over the past couple of years, there had been speculations that crypto might be banned in India. The Indian central bank had been pushing for a ban on cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin.
