The numero uno cryptocurrency exchange in terms of volume, Binance, has just acquired the Indian Wazirx exchange. This buyout will allow Indians to trade cryptocurrencies directly against Indian rupees. As a first step, starting November 25, Indian users will have the option to access Binance's fiat ramp in order to purchase cryptocurrencies directly in Indian rupee.
India, a golden market
This feature will allow users to purchase Tether (USDT) directly from Binance.com, in Indian rupee. This buyout makes sense in Binance's strategy to conquer the international market. With 1.3 billion people and a predominantly young population, the Indian market can be seen as a market of the future.
"The young Indian population is giving an advantage to the adoption and development of new financial technologies, and I believe this will play a vital role in making India a global hub for blockchain innovation. It will also encourage public adoption of cryptocurrencies," Binance's Changpeng Zhao said.
The 20 employees of Wazirx will now be employed by Binance, but will remain focused on their mission to "involve every Indian in the crypto revolution". Note that the amount of the sale was not disclosed. Nischal Shetty, CEO of Wazirx, also welcomed this operation, adding:
Massive cryptocurrency adoption
"India, with more than a billion people, is ready for massive cryptocurrency adoption, and this acquisition by Binance gives us the opportunity to serve not only India, but all the developing countries where we need to build good ramps of access. This acquisition is a new step in achieving our shared mission with Binance to decentralize the world."
According to Nischal Shetty, Binance now owns the entire Wazirx company, but details of the acquisition price have not yet been disclosed due to a non-disclosure agreement. According to The Economic Times, the price would be in the range of $5 million to $10 million.
Wazirx will continue to operate independently and focus on its goal of developing cryptocurrency adoption among Indians. In addition, Wei Zhou, Chief Financial Officer of Binance, confirmed again that this acquisition could highlight cryptocurrencies to the world's second most populous country:
"Building fiat-to-crypto gateways remains a key mission for Binance, and Wazirx will help by providing a simple and consistent way to purchase cryptocurrencies in a country with more than a billion people."
Substantial mass of users
With its new acquisition, Binance opens directly to a substantial mass of users who will be able to enter the cryptocurrency market with the local currency, eliminating the many intermediaries needed previously. The creation of direct gateways between the fiat currency and cryptocurrencies seems to become one of Binance's main objectives. Last month, the exchange added many crypto/fiat pairs, including the Russian ruble, the euro, the pound sterling and many others.
Binance has been interested in the Indian market for some time.Earlier this year, the Indian startup Matic Network, managed to raise funds via the platform of Ieos Binance Launchpad and had even at its listing beaten records of return on investment for an IEO. Another project, Marlin Protocol, secured $3 million in funding from Binance Labs, the investment arm of Binance.
