Coinstore, a virtual currency exchange based in Singapore, has opened its doors in India during a period when India’s government is working on legislation to ban most private cryptocurrencies.
According to Coinstore’s management, the company has launched its app and web platform. It plans to open branches in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore. This will serve as the base for its future expansion.
Charles Tan, Head of Marketing at Coinstore, told Reuters that India accounts for nearly a quarter our active users. “It was logical to expand into this market,” he said.
When Tan was asked why Coinstore launched India despite the impending clampdown on cryptocurrency, Tan replied: “There have been some policy flip-flops, but we hope things will be positive and we are optimistic the Indian government can come up with a healthy framework to support cryptocurrencies.”
Two sources revealed to Reuters that the government plans to prohibit cryptocurrency trading by imposing heavy capital gains and other taxes.
According to the legislative agenda for the winter session, which is due to begin later in the month, it has stated that it will only allow certain cryptocurrency to promote the underlying technology.
Tan stated that Coinstore intends to hire approximately 100 Indian employees and invest $20 million in marketing, development and hiring of crypto-related products for India.