Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at major crypto exchange Coinbase, met this week with Priyank Kharge, the IT minister of India’s Karnataka state, as the US-based crypto exchange seeks to expand its role in India’s growing digital infrastructure.
Grewal publicly thanked Kharge in a Wednesday X post, saying he “is excited to explore how Coinbase can further support Karnataka’s tech leadership.” He said that support could include developer tools, cybersecurity collaboration and capacity-building programs
“The future is onchain — and it’s being built here,” Grewal said.
In a separate Wednesday X post, Kharge said he met with the Coinbase team to “discuss their developer platform.” He said the platform “is helping simplify blockchain development and enabling developers to build onchain applications with ease.”
The minister also mentioned that he discussed potential cybersecurity collaboration with Coinbase, as well as the company sharing its expertise with the local government. He said they discussed training and capacity building programs, as well as incubation, and the possibility of hosting joint hackathons in the future.”
Related: Why is India investigating Binance over crypto loopholes?
Karnataka government planning to adopt blockchain
Kharge said Karnataka’s government is “keen on exploring” blockchain technology for governance and digital public infrastructure as the technology gains traction globally.
The meeting came amid Coinbase’s push to expand its services to governments. In a mid-March announcement, the company said it is helping governments engage with cryptocurrencies.
This is not the first time that the Karnataka state government has acknowledged blockchain. In July 2017, local authorities organized a seminar on blockchain and Bitcoin.
Kharge said in an X (then still Twitter) post at the time that the seminar aimed to convey a better understanding of blockchains applied to governance and Bitcoin (BTC). He also said that, if necessary, it would also lead to new policies.
Related: Indian crypto users may ‘force’ policy shift amid mounting demand
Coinbase aims for an India comeback
India has historically been a hostile environment for the cryptocurrency industry. Still, policy seems to be evolving, with mid-February reports indicating that Coinbase is in discussions with Indian regulators as it considers a return to the market.
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