Crypto trading slumps In India after money transfer hassles; what can investors do?
On 6 April 2022, Coinbase opened up the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to its Indian users. However, the next day, the National Payment Council of India (NPCI) released a statement saying it was unaware of any crypto exchanges using UPI payment services.
Therefore, to avoid any further hassles with the payment council, Coinbase temporarily stopped its UPI payment facility.According to the Financial Express, many Indian crypto exchanges ended up following suit. In addition to UPI payments, several exchanges have also taken down their RTGS, NEFT and IMPS services.
While some exchanges are still offering the net banking option, there are very few banking partners to choose from. Therefore, making INR deposits on Indian crypto exchanges has become next to impossible.The developments have dealt a severe blow to crypto exchanges in India and have resulted in a total free fall in daily trading volumes across the country.“The regulatory regime for crypto in India has been clarified significantly post budget, but it appears there is still room for interpretation post NPCI’s comments.
Most exchanges are employing an abundance of caution, seeking not to offend the regime in what is projected to be one of the largest crypto markets globally,” said Utkarsh Sinha, MD at Bexley Advisors, to The Financial Express.Also Read:Why was Coinbase’s crypto payment service suspended days after its India launch?After the NPCI’s pushback, all payment service providers have taken a backfoot and are employing a wait-and-watch strategy. Data pulled from CoinGecko shows that the trading activity on WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, has plummeted 68.4 percent in one fortnight.
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