Coinbase has enabled direct rupee bank rails in India, allowing users to deposit and withdraw Indian rupees via the IMPS instant payments network. The move follows the exchange's registration with India's Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2025.
Indian users can now access spot markets, perpetual futures, and the Advanced Trade interface on a single platform. This marks Coinbase's latest push into one of the world's fastest-growing digital asset markets after a troubled 2022 debut, when it briefly supported UPI-based rupee deposits before halting them.
Coinbase is entering a competitive arena dominated by local platforms like CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, ZebPay, and WazirX. Global rivals Binance and KuCoin have largely relied on crypto-only or peer-to-peer rupee access. Coinbase is offering direct, IMPS-based bank transfers.
Chainalysis ranked India first in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, ahead of 150 other countries, based on retail onchain activity and transaction volumes. Despite policy headwinds including a 30% tax on digital asset gains, India remains a key prize for global exchanges.