Malta-based Binance makes a debut in India: Acquires WazirX exchange platform

Binance is making a grand entrance into the India digital market through the acquisition of WaxirX cryptocurrency exchange. The move will see more than one billion Indian customers buy and sell digital assets using the local fiat currency, the Indian rupee (INR).

According to The Block, Binance now has a 100% stake in WazirX. However, the exact amount of the deal has not been shared publicly. The CEO of WazirX, Nischal Shetty confirmed the acquisition and added that all the 20 members of the company will now be employees of Binance. The COO of WazirX, Siddharth Menon said that the mission is to add more fiat-to-crypto gateways.

“Fiat ramps play a critical role in deciding the size & adoption of cryptomarket. Binance has all the major traders in the world and WazirX has tried and tested technology for next-generation peer to peer exchange, together we can drive mass adoption across the globe by solving fiat ramps."

According to the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao:

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

WazirX was launched in March 2018 and has been growing rapidly. In addition, it is looking forward to carrying out a token sale for WRX, WazirX’s native token. Shetty explained:

“We do about $30 million in monthly trading volume currently and are a top-rated mobile app in India with an average rating of 4.4 and more than 200,000 app downloads.”