Coinbase clarifies service halt reports for Indian customers.
Indian users urged to withdraw funds by Sept. 25.
In recent developments, Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has been at the center of speculation regarding the suspension of its services for Indian customers. However, the company has provided a much-needed clarification on the matter.
The controversy began when American online newspaper TechCrunch published a report hours ago, suggesting that Coinbase was gearing up to cease all operations for its Indian user base by September 25. Allegedly, Coinbase India users received emails warning them to withdraw their funds from the platform before the specified date.
However, it appears that the email notification was not a sweeping action affecting all Indian users. Instead, it was specifically aimed at those who were found to be in breach of Coinbase’s updated standards.
A Coinbase spokesperson shared a portion of the email that was shared on sept.8 to a famous crypto media , stating, “We are reaching out to inform you that we will be discontinuing all Coinbase Retail services linked to your above-mentioned account, as we will be disabling access for the retail accounts that no longer meet our updated standards for these services.”
Importantly, the clarification emphasized that this move does not impact users’ access to Coinbase Cloud services, which will remain accessible to them through their accounts.
Further clarification from the spokesperson revealed the nature of the action, stating, “It is possible that during the course of a recent routine review of our systems, some accounts may have been identified that no longer meet our updated standards. We will, therefore, be disabling these accounts and allow customers to update their information at a later date.”
Notably, Coinbase had initially launched its services in India on April 7, 2022. Unfortunately, just days after the launch, on April 11, the exchange was forced to halt payment services through the United Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform due to regulatory pressures in India.
What is Ahead For Users?
Coinbase reassured affected users that their funds remain safe, and they will continue to have the ability to withdraw their balances and send them to other cryptocurrency service providers until September 25.
However, amidst this development, Coinbase has reportedly restricted Indian users from signing up for accounts on their exchange. Instead, users are prompted to download Coinbase Wallet, the company’s wallet application.
Despite this setback, Indian users who had purchased cryptocurrencies before the UPI shutdown were still able to trade their existing assets through peer-to-peer (P2P) trading on the platform. However, as of the time of publication, Indian users on Coinbase are only able to withdraw existing crypto assets from their accounts.