TL;DR: Binance is arguably the most important cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Its penetration into the 1.3 billion population market of India, by acquiring peer-to-peer exchange WazirX recently, is yet more evidence Binance is settling for nothing less than global dominance. Straight from Mumbai, India, we chat with WazirX founder and CEO Nischal Shetty about what it means for his company and India. This episode is available embedded in the article below, and on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Radio Public, Breaker, PocketCasts, PodBean, YouTube for Newer Episodes, YouTube Older Episodes, and Overcast.

Binance Acquires P2P Exchange WazirX

When Mumbai, India-based P2P cryptocurrency exchange WazirX launched March 2018, the country’s central bank decided to crack down with banking restrictions for crypto-related businesses. That meant the young company had to pivot, and fast. They did, and provided value for an Indian street eager to participate in the online financial revolution that is cryptocurrency.

WazirX founder and CEO Nischal Shetty learned first hand about the importance of regulatory clarity along the way. India’s government has to make policy for 1.3 billion people, no small task, and so it’s not controversial to expect that process to be clunky at best. Shetty remains positive, however, and puts himself out there publicly as an advocate for clear, sensible governance regarding what he considers a transformative tech.

That sobriety and can-do spirit caught the eye of Binance, arguably the most important cryptocurrency exchange in the world. It too, in only a short time, has become a force, innovating, growing in ways even its critics cannot deny. And so it recently acquired WazirX, keeping the name, reputation, and the exchange’s CEO in place.

That’s a historic first for India and its cryptocurrency scene. Needless to write, onboarding more Indians, part of the globe’s largest democracy, who’re increasingly more tech-savvy by the day, and, well, the math is there. We chat with Shetty about being acquired, what it means, crypto in India, and the future.

LINKS

CoinSpice Podcast 59 Host C. Edward Kelso Nischal Shetty Twitter WazirX



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