Zebpay ditches India, chooses Malta as global launchpad

Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay has officially commenced operations from ‘Blockchain Island’, Malta.

The company had been a major player in the Indian market, once boasting an estimated five to six million investors on its platform. But problems arose when the country’s government and the Reserve Bank of India sanctioned a mass crackdown on crypto exchanges and trading sites and last month it announced that it was stopping its exchange activities.

Malta has been winning plaudits for its forward-thinking regulatory agenda and was recently cited as the number one spot for crypto trading in a study published by Morgan Stanley. Its Prime Minister, Dr. Joseph Muscat, is a big fan of blockchain technology, as he recently outlined in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Zebpay will use Malta as its base in pursuit of European growth. Its VFA exchange has launched in the region and will be operated by Awlencan Innovations Malta. This is currently only available to residents outside of US sanctioned economies.

“I look forward to seeing the company applying and obtaining all the necessary licences from the regulatory bodies in order to be able to operate in Malta. Our aim is to provide the legal certainty for operators and all the necessarily protection for customers and investors within this space” says Malta’s Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister Silvio Schembri.

“Governments and regulators around the world are waking up to the potential of blockchain-based technologies. But Malta stands out with its progressive regulations for this emerging sector,” comments Zebpay CEO Ajeet Khurana. “Choosing Malta as our global launchpad was a no-brainer, and I would like to wholeheartedly thank Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muscat for his visionary approach.”

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