Coinbase Reopens India Access, Sets 2026 Target for Cash-to-Crypto Purchases

Coinbase has reopened user registrations in India after a hiatus of more than two years, marking its most significant step yet toward re-establishing a footprint in one of the world’s largest digital-asset markets.

The exchange operator is now allowing Indian customers to sign up and conduct crypto-to-crypto trades, according to Coinbase’s director for Asia-Pacific, John O’Loghlen.

Speaking at India Blockchain Week, O’Loghlen said the company plans to introduce a fiat on-ramp in 2026, TechCrunch reported Sunday.

That feature would enable users to load rupees into the app and purchase digital assets directly, a capability Coinbase abandoned weeks after launching in 2022, when the operator of the country’s Unified Payments Interface distanced itself from the platform.

The company later withdrew entirely from India, offboarding “millions” of users in 2023 as it shifted to what O’Loghlen described as a “clean slate” approach with domestic regulators. 

Coinbase subsequently began formal engagement with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, which oversees compliance and anti-fraud norms, and secured registration earlier this year. 

It quietly resumed limited onboarding in October under an early-access program before opening the app more broadly this month.

The return comes as crypto firms continue to grapple with India’s stringent tax framework, which includes a 30% levy on digital-asset income without loss offsets and a 1% tax deducted at source on each trade.

The Indian government has collected about $818 million (₹700 crore) in taxes on digital-asset activity since introducing the levy in 2022–23, including $323 million (₹269.09 crore) in the first year and $525 million (₹437.43 crore) in 2023–24.

Industry participants say the rules have sharply reduced local trading volumes and complicated exchange operations. Despite those obstacles, Coinbase is forging ahead. 

In mid-October, the company announced it would increase its investment in CoinDCX, India’s largest exchange, in a deal valuing the firm at $2.45 billion. 

Executives and industry analysts previously told Decrypt that the partnership gives Coinbase a more viable route into the market than attempting to rebuild payments connectivity on its own.

Coinbase also plans to grow its India workforce, which already exceeds 500 employees, and sees the region as a bridge to broader activity across South Asia and the Middle East, TechCrunch reported.