Leading Crypto Exchanges Explore Ways To Enter India Despite Potential Ban

According to four sources, who declined to be identified, the U.S.-based Kraken, Hong Kong-based Bitfinex and rival KuCoin are actively scouting the market

Global digital currency exchanges are exploring ways to set up in India, following in the footsteps of market leader Binance, industry sources told Reuters, while the government in New Delhi dithers over introducing a law that could ban cryptocurrencies. Opponents of the potential ban say it would stifle the economic power of a tech-savvy, young country of 1.35 billion people. There is no official data, but industry analysts reckon there are 15 million crypto investors in India holding over Rs 100 billion ($1.37 billion). According to four sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to comment on private discussions, the U.S.-based Kraken, Hong Kong-based Bitfinex and rival KuCoin are actively scouting the market, which analysts say would only get bigger if it was given a free rein. "These companies have already begun talks to understand the Indian market and the entry points better," said one source directly involved with an exchange that had begun due diligence for an Indian firm it was considering acquiring. The other two exchanges, he said, were in the initial stages of deciding whether to enter India and weighing their options, which effectively come down to a choice between setting up a subsidiary or buying an Indian firm, as Binance, the world's biggest exchange, did two years ago.