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OKX, the world’s sixth-biggest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to expand into India and explore Web 3 applications in the country, Coin Desk reported.
The company plans to scale up its wallet services in the country “exponentially” and will tap into India’s developer community, chief marketing officer Haider Rafique told Coin Desk in an interview.
“We are not going to come in and cowboy this thing,” he said. “We’re going to learn about the community. We’re going to work with local folks. Figure out where we can add value.”
OKX has about 200,000 wallet users in India now, which is about 5% of the nation’s Web3 users, he said.
Follow me! You will be surprised 😊🥳 https://t.co/VPZVGsSwkJ
— OKX India (@OKXIndia) August 31, 2023
He said that the firm is trying to find developers and assess their contribution.
“And then work with these communities to figure out what is the right way in,” he said. “Is it for us to sponsor Web3 conferences or developer conferences or host an OKX Blockchain Week? This is what we are exploring.”
Haider added that OKX has no immediate plans to open an office in the country since there are no Web 3 services required in the region. But the CMO also said that the firm is looking for recruits to lead this effort. The company now has regional hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and the Bahamas.
No Fiat On Ramp Services in India Until There is a Regulatory Framework for Crypto – OKX CMO
Citing the ambiguous state of crypto in India, Haider told Coindesk that most of the country’s regulators are concerned about venues that have fiat on-ramp, which OKX offers, but not in India.
“Once India comes up with a regulatory framework for crypto, then we would like to be the front runners,” he said.
There is a push and pull regarding the state of cryptocurrency in the country. So far, there has been no legislation in the parliament for Web 3 or cryptocurrency. However, there has been an imposition of a 30% tax on crypto. Regulatory authorities like the Reserve Bank of India continue to rally against cryptocurrencies while promoting CBDC and the country has pushed for stronger global regulations around crypto.
Amidst the stringent financial regulations that have created a non-conducive environment for crypto in the country, there are some politicians who wish to decouple Web 3 from crypto.
Among these politicians is the former information technology minister of the country, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who, in the conference organized in March by CoinDCX named “Namaste India“, said –
“Web3 is important with a caution … come out of the shadow of crypto”
The former minister added that while he is a great supporter of Web 3, there are issues in crypto that could “threaten the financial sovereignty” of India.
OKX Partners with a Web 3 Firm for a Hackathon in Bengaluru
According to a press release posted on August 25, OKX has partnered with Neo, an open-source blockchain platform, for the upcoming Neo APAC hackathon in Bengaluru.
One more day being with @okxweb3 in #Bangalore 🙌 https://t.co/ogDb8izblT
— OKX India (@OKXIndia) August 26, 2023
Haider said that this will serve as a testing ground to validate the firm’s assumptions about the Web 3 culture in the country.
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