Coinbase Mounts A Cautious Comeback In India, Two Years After Exit

Coinbase has reopened India app registrations, with local fiat on-ramps planned for 2026 following a rocky exit more than two years ago.

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

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

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

“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats, have a clean slate here,” O’Loghlen said.

As Coinbase resumes customer onboarding in India, users can immediately execute crypto-to-crypto trades, according to the report by TechCrunch.

The exchange initially began onboarding users through an early-access program in October, around the time it hired Karan Malik as its India marketing lead.

Malik had previously overseen marketing for last year’s IBW event, where Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this year.

“Last year, I was leading the charge and building the marketing and brand playbook for IBW. This year, I’m bringing Coinbase to the party,” the exec said.

Coinbase has been actively working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian government. In early December, Coinbase’s international policy adviser Katie Mitch represented the exchange before India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

Source: CoinTelegraph