Indian Exchanges End Year With Improved Services, Optimism About Regulation

As the Indian government deliberates over cryptocurrency regulation, positive sentiment grows among local crypto exchanges regarding their government’s eventual decision. A number of them have also added new features and improved services such as offering interest on crypto deposits, increased liquidity, and better security.

Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations

Interest on Crypto Deposits

Indian cryptocurrency exchange Coindcx announced last week that its users can now earn interest on their BTC held at the exchange for 30 days or longer, stating:

You can earn interest on bitcoin you hold on Coindcx … Users will earn 1.5% interest on deposits of over 0.5 BTC, compounded monthly.

Coindcx CEO Sumit Gupta told news.Bitcoin.com on Friday, “With the current market situation, many traders are simply hodling their funds. This gave us the idea of incentivizing them for their holdings on Coindcx. This would help our users make their money work for them and incentivize them for storing their digital assets on Coindcx.”

Another Indian exchange, Wazirx, has a similar offer which was launched in August. The exchange allows users to earn 1 percent interest on their BTC, ETH, XRP, EOS, TRX and LTC deposits after 30 days.

More Trading Pairs and Increased Liquidity

On Saturday, Coindcx also announced that it has listed 15 more trading pairs in the USDT and USDC stablecoin markets.

Gupta explained to news.Bitcoin.com that his exchange currently offers trading in approximately 240 crypto-to-crypto markets from three exchanges, with more to be added soon. “Coindcx brings liquidity from Binance, Hitbtc and Huobi on a single platform,” the exchange detailed. At present, the platform lists 210 pairs from Binance, 10 from Huobi, and 20 from Hitbtc, Gupta revealed. “We choose the most liquid exchange for any particular coin & trading pair and use that exchange,” he described, adding that the platform also allows “open order book trading in INR markets.” The CEO further confirmed that traders are using his exchange for arbitrages, noting:

We are adding 10-20 trading pairs every week.

Security Upgrades

Koinex, another crypto exchange in India, announced on Saturday several account security upgrades. The trading platform now has a protection mode for crypto withdrawal requests that automatically activates for 10 minutes immediately after login. The exchange has also implemented email confirmation for withdrawals.

Wazirx also recently added a new security feature. The exchange now offers two-factor authentication for its app, mobile SMS and email.

Optimism About Regulation

The Indian government is reportedly deliberating over the cryptocurrency regulatory framework recommended by the inter-ministerial panel headed by Subhash Chandra Garg, the country’s Economic Affairs Secretary. Cnbc Tv18 reported earlier this month that an anonymous source said the panel was in favor of a ban on crypto transactions. However, the New Indian Express published an article on Wednesday claiming that there were recommendations of legalizing cryptocurrencies with “strong riders.”

Wazirx CEO Nischal Shetty told news.Bitcoin.com on Monday, “I believe in our government, that they’ll listen to our voices. I’ve been running a Twitter campaign and it’s gaining traction amongst Indian crypto users. As the campaign grows it’ll be harder to ignore.”

Gupta shared a similar sentiment. “The Indian govt. and the RBI understand that a complete ban on cryptocurrencies would slow the pace of personal financial liberalization and derail the economy from the path of growth and inclusion,” he said. “However, cryptocurrency in India is still in its infant stages and is experiencing a testing period before wider acceptance and legalization.” The CEO of Coindcx concluded:

While I am sure positive news will come eventually, we must understand the Indian government will attempt at slowly exposing citizens to digital currencies and their adoption, in a move similar to digital India and demonetization.

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What do you think of Indian exchanges adding these new features and services? Also, do you think the Indian government will introduce positive crypto regulation? Let us know in the comments section below.

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