The popular Malta-based spot and derivatives exchange – OKEx – has been eyeing the Indian crypto market for some time, and has now announced its plans to launch a peer-to-peer crypto exchange in India with zero trading fees. The firm is set to launch the platform by August 5.

Jay Hao, the chief executive of OKEx, commented on their recent endeavor into India and promised to improve the ecological layout and overall trading experience for Indian users. He said:

“We’re committed to connecting Indian traders to the international crypto-trading marketplace by providing a one-stop service for Indian traders, including spot and many kinds of derivatives. What’s more, OKEx will also further improve the ecological layout in India and enhance the trading experience of Indian users.”

The platform would offer Bitcoin and USDT trading pairs against the national fiat – INR. The firm has promised to add other coins later as the demand picks up. The platform would also allow INR deposits via popular online payment portals like UPI, IMPS, and NEFT.

OKEx launched a giveaway program to promote its new platform with 30,000 USDT being up for grabs. Users can benefit by participating in the giveaway contest comprising of quizzes, social media postings, and referring friends.

There remains an interest in international exchanges in the Indian crypto ecosystem, despite the uncertainty of over-regulation. OKEx also invested in the Indian derivative exchange CoinDCX during its seed funding round. Apart from OKEx, Binance, the world’s leading exchange, has also shown great interest in the Indian market and has already availed INR on-boarding for Indian customers. Apart from that, Binance also acquired WazirX exchange.

Research from OKEx also revealed the growing interest of Indian customers in the crypto space, and there are currently 5 million Indians with crypto holdings. While another analysis from CoinDCX revealed a 1031.4% month-on-month increase in BTC/INR trading volume.

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