Despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty over cryptocurrency trading in India, some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are looking to enter the world’s second-most-populous country.

Fast Facts:

  • Crypto exchange Binance has operated in India since acquiring local exchange WazirX in 2019, and reports by Reuters indicate that Kraken, Bitfinex and KuCoin are all eying India’s growing crypto market.
  • According to Reuters, the three companies are either considering acquiring an existing Indian exchanges or establishing subsidiaries in the country.
  • WazirX recently launched the country’s first marketplace for non-fungible tokens, using Binance’s blockchain to mint the tokens, as opposed to the more widely used Ethereum blockchain.
  • Amid the uncertain legal position of the industry, some of India’s homegrown exchanges recently partnered with the country’s Internet and Mobile Association to form a self-regulatory body to get ahead of government regulation. The regulatory landscape in India has been a subject of much speculation and debate following a failed parliamentary attempt to ban cryptocurrencies this year and the overturning of an attempted crypto ban by the Reserve Bank of India at the country’s Supreme Court.