Highlights:
- Bithumb, South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to open shop in India
- Bithumb seems to be taking the crypto ban proposal in India very lightly
- India could give severe backlash to Bithumb or Bithumb could break the social stigma and allow cryptocurrency growth
Founded in 2014, Bithumb is the most influential digital asset exchange in South Korea. Javier Sim, co-founder and managing director of Bithumb, said that the company is planning to expand into the Indian cryptocurrency market through local partnerships and by funding cryptocurrency startups in the region. The exchange currently has over 10 million registered traders with the cumulative transaction volume exceeding 1 trillion USD till date.
“We are open to talking to regulators, working with them to be a regulated exchange. We are a strong brand from Korea and do not involve ourselves in unregulated or illegal trade.”
The firm is planning to expand its services to India by partnering with local crypto exchanges, funding local blockchain startups and working on new industry initiatives, local media outlet The Economic Times reports Oct. 3.
Is India Really a Good Place to Start?
The South Korean company is the largest Bitcoin exchange globally at the moment. This comes as a breather for Indian cryptocurrency platforms such as Zebpay, WazirX and Unocoin, who have been demanding regulations for crypto-to-crypto exchange, instead of a blanket ban.
In April last year, RBI had issued a statement barring all cryptocurrency-related services. The central bank said that it will not deal with or provide any service to the businesses that deal with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. RBI also added that the regulated business which already provides such services shall exit the relationship within the next three months.
It remains to be seen what the reaction from the regulators in India will be. Will they consider Bithumb’s proposal or will they push innovation away fearing competition.
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