Binance adds fiat support to buy crypto using Indian Rupee

Binance has added support to purchase bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with Rupee-based bank transfers, powered by the Indian digital assets exchange WarizX.

While Bitcoin is not banned in India, it’s very hard for citizens to buy and trade bitcoin because local banks aren’t allowed to interact with crypto companies. WarizX is one of the few crypto exchanges still operating in the country, with more than 200,000 users and sees $30 million in trading volume per month. But it’s still low considering the size of the Indian market.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he was unconcerned with India’s current regulatory stance on bitcoin. When asked on Twitter if he was worried about the mooted bill banning crypto in India—he pointed out that “It's a "proposed" bill, not [a] passed bill.”

Zhao added that his firm was “enabling 1.3 billion more people to crypto.”

The integration comes just a week after the Indian exchange was acquired by the Malta-based crypto exchange, for between $5-10 million, according to reports.

“[The] Binance acquisition helps us get all the help and support we need to achieve rapid growth,” said Wazirx CEO Nischal Shetty, adding, “Binance believes in the scope of Crypto in India.”

Binance now supports six fiat currencies on its trading platform. Apart from the newly announced Indian Rupee (INR), other fiat currencies supported include the Nigerian Naira (NGN) and Russian Ruble (RUB), Euro (EUR), Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH) and Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT). 

While purchases of bitcoin can now be made in Rupees, Binance doesn’t currently offer trading against the Rupee.