Coinbase is facilitating direct deposits and withdrawals in rupees on its platform in India, becoming the only international crypto exchange offering this facility and giving it a major competitive edge over its biggest rival, Binance.
The Nasdaq-listed S&P 500 crypto exchange, which re-entered India after securing registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit in December 2025, is targeting a major share of retail and institutional customers, enabling trade in more than 500 crypto assets.
India ranked number one in Chainalysis global crypto adoption index, John O'Loghlen, head of Asia Pacific at Coinbase, told ET. Therefore, Coinbase wants to play an early role in shaping the growth of the digital assets ecosystem here, he said.
Coinbase Ventures has invested also in its two rival domestic crypto exchanges: CoinDCX and Coinswitch.
“We think we can play an important role in that ecosystem, both through investments and through investments in other exchanges and running a two- or a three-horse race here,” Loghlen said.
“In coming months and quarters, we'll be unlocking more products, bringing more promotions and campaigns to the market and yet trying to win that share from the existing industry. But I think also growing the broader retail pool is something that's really exciting for us, whether it's with our organic launch or our inorganic investments,” he said.
Coinbase is targeting both retail and institutional customers in India. While the consumer business remains the company's largest revenue contributor globally, he said interest from high-net-worth individuals, family offices and institutions is rising rapidly.
“We see a number of people from traditional finance who have had experience in other asset classes such as mutual funds, ETFs, currencies, gold and commodities becoming very interested in digital assets,” the executive said.
Coinbase is also actively engaging with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to participate in the pilot programme for tokenisation of corporate bonds.
“Our policy teams are very much aware of this and looking at this. We have played roles in various pilots in a number of geographies. We lean in very actively with regulators. We've met with Sebi in various environments. I think it's clear that the Indian regulation is catching up with other geographies,” Loghlen said.
Coinbase is also in discussions with a range of potential partners in India, including large conglomerates, technology companies, fintech firms and major banking institutions, as it looks to expand its presence beyond retail crypto trading.
The company works with similar partners globally through its “crypto-as-a-service” offering, which allows banks and financial institutions to white-label Coinbase’s crypto infrastructure and services for their own customers. It has more than 50 such partners globally and is looking to replicate the model in India, Loghlen said.
Coinbase is also exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and crypto, particularly around automated and agent-driven trading. The company recently introduced integrations that allow AI agents to automate trading and portfolio management.
“Agentic trading is catching up big time,” O’Loghlen said, describing a future where investors could run multiple AI agents that function like a personal hedge fund. However, AI trading systems would require appropriate safeguards and governance mechanisms, he cautioned.
