An Indian cryptocurrency investment platform will introduce a US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to attract institutional and retail investors in India.
The platform will initially list four well-known Bitcoin ETFs, namely BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and Vanguard.
Edul Patel, CEO and co-founder of an Indian cryptocurrency investment platform, said the platform intends to launch a U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to target institutional and retail investors in India.
The move comes amid recent moves by the Indian government to tighten regulations on offshore cryptocurrency exchanges.
Mudrex launches four spot Bitcoin ETFs for first time
In an interview with the media, Patel emphasized the value of spot Bitcoin ETFs to institutional investors, noting that they already serve retail clients in the country. According to him, Mudrex is the first entity in India to provide this service to institutions.
In the initial phase, the platform will first list four spot Bitcoin ETFs, namely BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and Vanguard.
Patel elaborated on the role of a spot Bitcoin ETF as a security. Therefore, Indians can get them under the Liberal Remittance Scheme (LRS). Therefore, users and institutions looking to gain exposure to Bitcoin can use ETFs to diversify their investment portfolios.
The Reserve Bank of India has set the overall LRS limit at USD 250,000 annually. Mudrex plans to facilitate investors to purchase spot Bitcoin ETFs, with a minimum investment requirement of $5,000 and a maximum limit of $250,000.
Talking about participation, Patel mentioned that 20 of the approximately 350 institutions working with Mudrex have already started the onboarding process. He expects heavy trading volume, with an average face value of $110,000.
Mudrex expands amid regulatory concerns
Mudrex, which is based in California and backed by Y-Combinator, operates a subsidiary registered with India's intelligence services. In addition, the company has operations in the European Union and holds licenses in Lithuania and Italy.
Patel clarified that while U.S.-based brokerage partners will handle the actual trade processing, Mudrex’s Indian subsidiary will oversee spot Bitcoin ETF services.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained a firm stance on cryptocurrencies, recently stating that India should not imitate the United States’ approach to ETFs due to economic risks.
On the other hand, the intelligence unit of the Ministry of Finance has registered more than two dozen Indian encryption service providers and imposed heavy taxes on the industry. While both entities prioritize protecting the Indian economy and investors, their regulatory strategies differ.
The Indian government recently blocked Binance’s URL in the country, citing non-compliance with regulations.
During this time, Mudrex announced that it will facilitate free transfers of more than 200 tokens from Binance to Mudrex to help users protect their assets.
Patel mentioned that the move attracted more than 30,000 customers to register with Mudrex. Other exchanges that were shut down include OKX and Kucoin. #比特币ETF #印度
