Mumbai-based CoinDCX announced Wednesday that users can now purchase cryptocurrencies with the Indian rupee, as the exchange became the first platform in India to fully integrate bank account transfers.
An Indian cryptocurrency exchange has added support for bank account transfers, hours after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was forced to lift its cryptocurrency ban.
The integration came less than six hours after the Supreme Court of India ruled against a 2018 ban imposed by the RBI, which banned domestic financial institutions from providing banking services to cryptocurrency companies.
Anirudh Rastogi, the founder and managing partner of Ikigai Law, the law firm that filed the original petition on behalf of CoinDCX and other exchanges, commented that the judges’ decision was made on the grounds there was little evidence to suggest cryptocurrencies posed a threat to the banking system.
The RBI ban was deemed not to be «proportionate to the risk sought to be addressed by such ban,» Rastogi said.
In a statement, CoinDCX co-founder and Chief Executive Sumit Gupta said the court verdict would likely be the catalyst for a «transformation» in the Indian cryptocurrency industry.
A banking integration was the exchange’s «first priority» now that Indian citizens could once again invest in digital assets, Gupta said.
«With renewed accessibility and convenience in purchasing cryptocurrencies, we believe that this change will have a dramatic effect in accelerating crypto adoption in India,» Gupta said.
It’s unclear whether the banking integration means CoinDCX has struck up a partnership with an Indian financial institution. The exchange did not immediately return requests for comment.
Japan Crypto Exchanges Face Imminent Margin Trading Limits
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan will face significant restrictions on margin trading as soon as this Spring, according to reports.
Referencing sources at Japan’s finance regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), local English-language news outlet Japan Times revealed plans to limit margin leverage to twice the total of traders’ deposits.
FSA seeks to counter crypto volatility
The move follows on from a limit of four times traders’ deposits which the domestic exchange industry imposed on itself through a self-regulatory body last year.
The reason, according to the FSA sources, is to guard against periods of volatility on cryptocurrency markets.
On the timeframe for implementation, Japan Times added:
“The new rule will be included in a Cabinet Office order linked to the revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act which will go into force in spring.”
It remains unclear whether the restrictions will take effect immediately following the introduction of the Act.
A worthwhile trade-off?
Margin trading can involve significantly larger market moves due to the potential size of the wins or losses, particularly when large numbers of investors engage in the practice at once.
As Cointelegraph reported, the tool’s impact has become a cause of controversy for some, who attribute it to manipulation of cryptocurrency price performance.
In October, data showed open interest in margin trading was at an all-time high in Japan.
Exchanges appeared to at least in part forecast the changes, meanwhile, with Coincheck announcing it would halt leveraged trading altogether from March.
Japan has sought to become a friendly jurisdiction for cryptocurrency, fostering permissive regulations and closely monitoring exchanges. At the same time, authorities have said they see no demand for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, among consumers.
