Binance Acquires WazirX Exchange in Crypto-Unfriendly India

Despite the regulatory uncertainties facing the crypto ecosystem in India, Binance has acquired WazirX, India’s leading peer to peer cryptocurrency exchange; a move that will further boost crypto adoption in the country.

Per the announcement on Thursday, the 1 billion+ residents in India can now easily purchase and sell cryptocurrencies Indian rupees (INR) starting from November 25 through the Binance Fiat Gateway.

Wei Zhou, Binance CFO, said in the announcement that, “building fiat-to-crypto bridges remain a key mission for Binance, and WazirX will help this by providing a simple and cohesive way to purchase cryptocurrencies in a country which is home to more than a billion people.”

The India-based exchange will integrate the Binance Fiat Gateway into its auto-matching engine in the first quarter of 2020. The Integration allows users to purchase Tether (USDT) against INR directly from Binance, with which they can use to trade any digital asset from WazirX.

The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, said in the report:

The young demographic in India gives an edge to adopt and build on new financial technologies, and I believe this will play a vital role in making India a global blockchain innovation center to also spur cryptocurrency adoption throughout the larger public in the country.

On his part, Nischal Shetty, the CEO of WazirX, expressed a belief that the next phase for a significant crypto adoption will begin from developing nations such as India. Thus, joining forces with Binance enables one to not only cater to Indians but every developing country in need of fiat on-ramps.

In another recent development reported by Coinfomania, Binance signed an MoU with Ukraine to assist in the drafting of new regulations for the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem in the country.