Coinbase Returns To India, Restarts User Onboarding

Main US cryptocurrency alternate Coinbase is returning to India after a two-year absence from the market.

Coinbase has resumed app registrations in India because it prepares to roll out native fiat on-ramps in 2026, Coinbase APAC director John O’Loghlen introduced at India Blockchain Week (IBW), according to a Sunday report by TechCrunch.

Coinbase’s return to India comes greater than two years after it ceased local services in September 2023, following a troubled debut of its local exchange launched in 2022.

“We had tens of millions of shoppers in India, traditionally, and we took a really clear stance to off-board these prospects solely from abroad entities, the place they have been domiciled and controlled. As a result of we needed to form of burn the boats, have a clear slate right here,” O’Loghlen mentioned.

Crypto-to-crypto trades obtainable instantly

As Coinbase resumes buyer onboarding in India, customers can instantly execute crypto-to-crypto trades, in accordance with the report by TechCrunch.

The alternate initially started onboarding customers by way of an early-access program in October, across the time it hired Karan Malik as its India advertising and marketing lead.

Malik had beforehand overseen advertising and marketing for final yr’s IBW occasion, the place Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this yr.

“Final yr, I used to be main the cost and constructing the advertising and marketing and model playbook for IBW. This yr, I’m bringing Coinbase to the occasion,” the exec mentioned.

Coinbase ramps up push in India

Coinbase has been actively working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian authorities. In early December, Coinbase’s worldwide coverage adviser Katie Mitch represented the alternate earlier than India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

“We’re optimistic on the potential for forward-looking VDA regulation in India,” she said in an X put up final Thursday.

In one other improvement final week, Priyank Kharge, IT minister for Karnataka, signed a memorandum of understanding with Coinbase India to deepen the state’s management in blockchain innovation and cybersecurity.

Via the collaboration, the Karnataka authorities will collaborate with the alternate on startup incubation on Coinbase-backed Base protocol and pace up real-world functions of blockchain expertise, the minister mentioned.

Associated: Coinbase invests in Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX at $2.45B valuation

As beforehand talked about, Coinbase secured a license with India’s Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU) in March 2025, positioning the alternate for a possible launch within the nation. In August, Coinbase chief authorized officer Paul Grewal also met with Karnataka’s IT minister Kharge to discover collaboration on developer instruments, cybersecurity and blockchain in governance.

When approached by Cointelegraph about its relaunch in India, a Coinbase spokesperson mentioned the alternate’s FIU registration in March permits it to supply crypto buying and selling companies within the nation. The consultant declined to offer additional particulars at the moment.