Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global Inc., has been quite outspoken about India's clampdown oncryptocurrencies, from suggesting a legal move against RBI in a tweet to calling out the government's subtle pressure on exchanges. Multiple sources from the coin industry and government told CoinDesk that Coinbase's communications strategy may not be the right approach.
One industry source told CoinDesk that Coinbase is unrelenting and audacious, and that it appears to be a mistake, as it appears to be a mistake.
Another long-time financial services veteran said Coinbase's communication strategy reflected their ignorance of how to do business in India. Why It Matters: Last month, Coinbase had to shut down its India business, days after it said it would allow Indians to buyBTC USD, Doge coin DOGE USD, andEthereum ETHUSD using the UPI payments system.
The company later blamed India's central bank for putting informal pressure and called its act of shadow banning UPI a violation of India's top court ruling.
Another source who holds close ties to the country's financial institutions said, What Armstrong and Coinbase don't get is that in India, the RBI is the all-mighty in the financial world, and that you can't just come in and do whatever you want, and not expect backlash. In a recent media interview, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said he would not comment on Armstrong's allegations.
Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, the shares of Coinbase closed 4.02% higher at $69.87 on Thursday. The price of the digital currency was down 2.33% at $28,879. In the last 24 hours, Dogecoin lost 8.31% and 3.90%, while Ethereum and Doge coin lost 30 in the last 24 hours.