Major Crypto Exchange Coinbase Enables Rupee Bank Rails in India

Coinbase has enabled direct rupee bank rails in India, making it easier for local customers to move money between bank accounts and crypto markets on the exchange as the company deepens its push into one of the world’s fastest-growing digital asset markets.

Indian users can now deposit and withdraw Indian rupees via the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) instant payments network and access spot markets, perpetual futures and the company’s Advanced Trade interface through a single platform, according to a company blog post published Sunday.

The move marks Coinbase’s latest push to expand its presence in India since a troubled 2022 debut and follows the company’s registration with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, giving it a formal regulatory footing in the market.

In 2022, Coinbase briefly supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based rupee deposits before halting them days after launch, after payments authorities distanced themselves from crypto use of the network and partners stopped enabling UPI for the exchange.

Related: Coinbase brings global crypto derivatives markets to US institutional clients

Coinbase registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2025, a step the company said enables it to offer crypto trading services in India under the country’s Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) framework.

India first in global crypto adoption index

Coinbase is wading into a crowded but strategically important arena, where domestic platforms such as CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, ZebPay and WazirX already serve Indian traders.

Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index, 2025. Source: Chainalysis

Global exchanges such as Binance and KuCoin are also widely used, but have largely relied on crypto-only or peer-to-peer rupee access, rather than the kind of direct, IMPS-based bank rails Coinbase is now offering.

With rupee deposits and withdrawals now live, Coinbase is providing Indian users direct bank-to-crypto transfers in addition to spot trading, perpetual futures and its Advanced Trade platform, and says it has built local INR order books for concentrated domestic liquidity alongside access to its global exchange.

India has emerged as a key prize for global exchanges despite policy headwinds, including a 30% tax on many digital asset gains and a 1% tax deducted at source on certain transactions.

Chainalysis ranked India first in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, ahead of 150 other countries, based on factors such as retail onchain activity, use of centralized exchanges and decentralized finance protocols, and transaction volumes, illustrating the scale of grassroots usage that platforms like Coinbase are trying to tap.

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