Coinbase to double its India workforce to 1,000

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) plans to more than triple its workforce in India this year to about 1,000 employees, said Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase.

Armstrong said customers can now use the Unified Payments Interface, India's national fast payment network, to buy cryptocurrencies directly on its exchange.

Coinbase's expansion plans in India come at a time when local rivals are strongly opposed to the tough new tax regime. The government will impose a 1 percent withholding income tax (TDS) on all transfers of digital assets above a certain size, a move that executives warn will deprive the market of much-needed liquidity.

There are an estimated 15 million active crypto users in India. India has been in a regulatory dilemma since 2020 when the country's Supreme Court overturned a RBI directive banning regulated entities from working with digital asset firms.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a blog post that the company hopes to quadruple its workforce in India this year by the end of the year, adding 1,000 employees to the existing 300 at its India Innovation Center, which opened last year.