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Coinbase registers with FIU in India amid market comeback efforts

Web3 & Enterprise·March 12, 2025, 2:12 AM

With reports of American exchange platform Coinbase having been in talks with regulators to re-enter the Indian market emerging last month, the firm has made further progress with those efforts, registering with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

 

In a blog post published to the Coinbase website on March 11, the company confirmed that it had successfully registered with the FIU, a national agency which is responsible for gathering, processing, analyzing and circulating data related to suspicious financial transactions.

https://asset.coinness.com/en/news/803d03392794c9c11111e2c2b6ce84ca.webp
Photo by Big G Media on Unsplash

Offering retail services in 2025

As a consequence of this registration, the company intends to commence trading activity in India once more, with plans to offer retail services to Indian investors later this year.

 

Commenting on the development, John O'Loghlen, Regional Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at Coinbase, stated that the company is committed to building its business in markets where potential exists for crypto and on-chain innovation. He added:

 

“India represents one of the most exciting market opportunities in the world today, and we’re proud to deepen our investment here in full compliance with local regulations.”

 

News of this development has been interpreted as a positive for the crypto sector. Taking to X, Suraj Chawla, founder and CEO of GPU.net, a decentralized network of GPUs, suggested that the registration was indicative of a softening in the regulatory approach taken to crypto in India. He believes that the Trump administration in the U.S., which is pro-crypto, is collaborating with India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

He added:

 

“This is extremely positive news with countries like UAE, IND, RUS, USA adopting mainstream crypto and working on critical infra like exchanges, ETF and stablecoins.”

 

Taking this development as a sign of a crypto awakening in India, Chawla suggested that we could see major Indian corporations like Reliance, Tata and Adani going into mainstream crypto infrastructure.

 

‘Informal pressure’

Coinbase was forced to disable UPI payments on its platform in India back in 2022 due to what Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described at the time as “informal pressure” from India’s central bank, the Royal Bank of India (RBI). Armstrong offered the following take on the status of crypto in India at that time:

“India is a unique market in the sense that the Supreme Court has ruled that they can't ban crypto, but there are elements in the government there, including at the Reserve Bank of India, who don't seem to be as positive on it.”

 

In 2023 the company disabled new user sign-ups on its platform. 

 

India’s central bank has leaned against crypto over the last few years. In January of last year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, said that there was no place in India for “crypto mania,” following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. He said at that time that "the way we look at crypto remains unchanged, irrespective of who does what." 

 

While taking what has been at best an ambiguous approach to cryptocurrencies, the RBI has advocated for the adoption of blockchain technology by India’s banks.

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Web3 & Enterprise·

Jul 27, 2023

Milk Partners Launches Blockchain-Powered Reward Points System in Indonesia

Milk Partners Launches Blockchain-Powered Reward Points System in IndonesiaSouth Korean tech company Milk Partners, which operates blockchain-powered reward points platform MiL.k, has announced the official launch of its services in Indonesia, according to a report by local news outlet Etoday. MiL.k simplifies the process of handling and exchanging reward points from multiple companies by offering an integrated platform for users.Photo by Dino Januarsa on UnsplashLocal readinessIn order to provide stable local service, MiL.k has registered as an electronic system organizer (ESO) in Indonesia. Moreover, the platform has implemented a passport and identification card verification system to meet know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.As of today, Indonesian users can download the MiL.k app from the App Store and Google Play. Within this month, they will be able to utilize their reward points from two local companies: GetPlus, a loyalty point integration service, and Indonesia AirAsia, a budget airline.Southeast AsiaTo expand its reach and promote the platform further, Milk Partners has plans to collaborate with local partners on a range of promotional events. Additionally, the company aims to boost its marketing efforts in Southeast Asia, encouraging more businesses and projects to join the MiL.k platform.Cho Jung-min, CEO of Milk Partners, shared his excitement about the official launch of MiL.k in Indonesia, which is a significant step in the company’s global expansion plan. He stressed the commitment to providing reasonable and tangible services and asked for customers’ interest and support in this endeavor.Recent token listingIn line with this development is last month’s listing of the trading pair of MLK/IDR on Indodax, an Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange. MLK stands for Milk Coin, a key currency that can be exchanged for reward points on the MiL.k platform.

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Policy & Regulation·

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