Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Crypto Exchange Coinbase, met with Priyank Kharge, IT Minister of India’s Karnataka, this week as US-based Crypto Exchange seeks to expand its role in India’s growth digital infrastructure.
Grewal publicly thanked Kharge on Wednesday’s X-Post, saying he is “excited to explore ways Coinbase can further support Karnataka’s technical leadership.” He said support could include developer tools, cybersecurity collaboration and capacity building programs.
“The future is on-chain and it’s built here,” says Grewal.
On another Wednesday, on X Post, Kharge met with the Coinbase team and said they would “discuss the developer platform.” He said the platform “simplifies blockchain development and helps developers easily build on-chain applications.”
The Minister also said it discussed potential cybersecurity cooperation with Coinbase and potential cybersecurity cooperation that shares expertise on the issue with local governments. He said they discussed training and capacity building programs, as well as the possibility of hosting incubation, and future co-hackathons. ”
sauce: Priyank Kharge
Related: Why is India investigating Binance over crypto loopholes?
The Karnataka government plans to adopt blockchain
Kharge said the Karnataka government is “eager to explore” blockchain technology for governance and digital public infrastructure as it gains global traction.
The conference comes amid Coinbase’s push to expand its services to the government. In an announcement in mid-March, the company said the government is helping its involvement with cryptocurrency.
This is not the first time the Karnataka government has approved blockchain. In July 2017, local authorities held a seminar on blockchain and Bitcoin.
Kharge said in a post on X (Twitter at the time) that the seminar aims to convey a better understanding of governance and blockchain applied to Bitcoin (BTC). He also said it will lead to new policies if necessary.
Related: Indian crypto users could “force” policy shift amid growing demand
Coinbase is aiming for a comeback in India
India has historically been a hostile environment for the cryptocurrency industry. Still, the policy appears to be evolving, with a mid-February report showing that Coinbase is discussing its return to the market with Indian regulators.
Coinbase has asked local users to withdraw funds in the second half of 2023 and said it will halt all Coinbase retail services in India. The exchange previously faced problems with Indian regulators, shutting down the domestic United payments interface in April 2022 just three days after the local launch.
Grewal also joined the US and India Business Council (USIBC) Global Council in early February, with the organization’s president saying “leadership in the field of fintech and digital assets” being important.
The report also comes after the release of Cryptosystem Surveillance, Innovation and Strategy (Coin) Act, released last month, was announced to introduce a legislative blueprint that supports India’s clearer, industry-driven policy environment. The coin remains a non-binding model law with no legal effect unless it is formally introduced and passed by local councils.
Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase but did not receive any responses from the publishing.
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