The crypto exchange giant, OKX, gears up to penetrate India’s “tech-savvy” market. Currently, the company does not provide any centralized finance products to Indian users, despite it being a significant part of their global demographic with over 200,000 Indian wallet users. However, plans are in motion to scale general Web3 products to cater to this customer base.
This comes during a time when India, the current G20 chair, hosts the world’s key leaders, with crypto regulations featuring heavily in their dialogue. The discussions are biased towards establishing a sturdy global framework for the emerging industry rather than implementing a blanket ban.
OKX’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, Haider Rafique, shares his viewpoint that the country offers fertile ground for Web3 due to its inherent tech-inclination. He states, “Most youth in India are very Web2 savvy and they’re certainly first movers on Web3. It’s second nature.” Rafique also points out that India leads in wallet holdings of Web3 assets and tops the market for notable crypto wallets.
Rafique further highlights the sophistication of Indian users in comparison to the rest of the world. Simple NFT offerings that might delight younger audiences in other markets wouldn’t be enough for the tech-advanced Indian crowd; they require real utility.
Seeing the nation’s lack of definite regulations for centralized exchanges and the overall crypto industry, OKX resorts to scaling its Web3 products, careful to steer clear of regulatory scrutiny. Rafique expresses the challenge of operating in an unregulated environment, noting that having clear rules actually makes operations easier.
Despite the regulatory ambiguity, Rafique conveys his optimism about the upcoming potential regulations, pledging compliance to local laws, “Before regulations, you actually don’t know how the government will react. So it doesn’t give a company the framework to understand how we should be operating in this market.”
OKX is preparing a plethora of products for launch pending regulatory approval. Furthermore, in a marketing move, they hint at the possibility of partnering with top Indian celebrities in the near future.
Elsewhere, OKX plans to recommence operations in the USA and Europe once given regulatory clearance. The company is also extending its reach by opening offices in crypto-friendly cities like Dubai. This global scaling mirrors OKX’s pursuit to establish not a singular global headquarter but regional hubs.
Source: Cryptonews
