India a crown jewel for us as far as impact is concerned: Binance's Seker

Binance's APAC head says India is the fastest-growing digital asset market globally despite regulatory uncertainty, with explosive potential driven by mobile penetration and savvy users

India has emerged as the world's fastest-growing cryptocurrency market despite regulatory ambiguity, attracting the attention of Binance, the world's largest digital asset exchange. With over 80 per cent mobile and internet penetration, uniform adoption across tier-1 to tier-4 cities, and a young, digitally savvy population, India represents what Binance calls a “crown jewel” opportunity, said SB Seker, head of APAC at Binance. In a face-to-face interview with Peerzada Abrar, on the sidelines of India Blockchain Week Conference, Seker discusses the company's strategy for navigating India's unclear licensing framework, competing with local exchanges, and capitalising on a market where retail and institutional interest in crypto continues to surge — even as policymakers debate the path forward. Edited excerpts.

 

India's crypto regulatory framework remains ambiguous. What specific policy clarity is Binance seeking from Indian regulators, and are you in active dialogue with the Finance Ministry or RBI on a potential framework?

 

So, tax is part of the regulatory equation, but it's not all of it, right? And we are constantly — just as we are in every other jurisdiction around the world where we operate — in touch with regulators on a whole host of issues. The bigger question, I would say, in India at this point is the lack of clarity around what the licensing framework will eventually look like.

 

Right now, we’re operating on an AML (anti-money laundering) registration model, and among G20 countries — and even beyond that — it’s the only large major country left that hasn’t moved to a full licensing model. Australia was in the same category, but they’ve moved towards a full licensing model.

 

A full licensing model would clarify how order books, clearing, settlement, and custody are regulated. There's also no clarity on products — are we allowed to do staking? What kinds? All of these issues come together and create an atmosphere of lack of clarity that makes it difficult for businesses to operate. Yes, we are engaging with regulators at all times on this, but I think India will take her own path, and she has her own strategic priorities.

 

Binance faced challenges in India in 2023 amid regulatory scrutiny. Given the government's evolving stance and growing retail interest in crypto, what's your strategy for tapping the Indian market?

 

In 2024, we became FIU (financial intelligence unit)-registered as an offshore entity, which is a permissible pathway. And that is basically the only regulatory touchpoint that any company can have in the space. So we are fully compliant on that front.

 

We obviously comply with all of the requests and reporting requirements with the FIU. And beyond that, what does it mean for a business to operate in India? Again, there’s a lack of clarity, but what it means is that as long as you’re meeting those requirements — and the law-enforcement requirements and data requests — then you’re allowed to operate in the market. We understand there are unspoken rules around INR touchpoints, which we obviously can’t do in the market. But we are looking at a whole host of options, including which partners are allowed to do this in the market and what the restrictions are.

 

Despite regulatory challenges, India has been the fastest-growing digital asset market globally for four years — across spot, futures, and DeFi (decentralised finance). Growth is uniform across tier-1 to tier-4 cities. India is a crown jewel for us given the market size, age dividend, and 87–88 per cent mobile and internet penetration. You have a unique host of factors that lend to explosive potential. Like any other crypto or digital asset exchange, we are very interested in India.

 

How does India's potential compare to markets like Indonesia, Philippines, or Vietnam where regulatory clarity is arguably better?

 

India is incomparable in population size, disposable income, and working-age adults. The sheer scale of potential customers and transactions has no comparison.

 

Indian users are highly experimental, cost-conscious, and savvy — switching costs are low. They demand strong liquidity, competitive pricing, security, and excellent user experience. We believe we're well-positioned to deliver on all fronts.

 

What we want to give Indian users is security, stability, and the ability to scale up their personal asset holdings and their portfolio management.

 

Are you seeing institutional players — banks, asset managers, family offices — in India or broader APAC increasing their crypto exposure? What products or services is Binance building specifically for institutional clients?

 

In India, the adoption rates are a bit lower. I think a large part of that is the lack of clarity on how these assets will be treated in the long run, because companies have balance sheets to manage, stakeholders to manage, shareholders to manage. I think that’s been a dampener. But there is interest in this market.

 

And we offer solutions end-to-end — retail, all the way to high-net-worth individuals, as well as corporates and institutions. Our Link programme, our crypto-as-a-service modules — these are all institutional-facing models. We have institutional-grade custody solutions as well.

 

I think the engagement will start to get a lot stronger, in tandem with what’s happening globally, when there is more certainty in the market.

 

With India's UPI (unified payments interface) setting the standard for digital payments, do you see a role for stablecoins in India's payment infrastructure? How would Binance position stablecoins given RBI's resistance to private cryptocurrencies?

 

I think the RBI will eventually come to a position on what is best for India in terms of stablecoins — whether it's a regulated rupee-backed stablecoin, or CBDCs (central bank digital currencies). Each of them has unique characteristics. In terms of stablecoin adoption, that’s been the other mega trend globally: real-world asset tokenisation, institutional uptake, and then stablecoins.

 

UPI was a game changer for India. It basically turned every bank account into a mobile wallet. We think there is a lot of utility in UPI, especially if it has a digital QR code that solves fraud, etc., and links up with crypto exchanges, because then you have end-to-end visibility. From a law-enforcement track-and-trace perspective, it becomes a complete system.

 

Stablecoin adoption, particularly in emerging markets, has been a great driver of adoption — for reasons of instant settlement, low cost, and no multiple counterparties in the remittance chain, for example. It has multiple use cases where people have woken up to the fact that its utility is very high.

 

Indian platforms like WazirX, CoinDCX, and ZebPay have adapted to local regulations. What's Binance's competitive advantage and how do you differentiate against these entrenched local players?

 

We don't compete on regulatory arbitrage — full compliance is non-negotiable. Our competitive advantage comes from security, liquidity, pricing, stability, and product density.

 

Beyond trading, what role does Binance see for DeFi protocols and Web3 infrastructure in solving real problems in emerging APAC markets?

 

DeFi in particular — I think the draw there for users is privacy and anonymity. But again, it’s the cutting-edge frontier of the space. We do offer integration to DeFi protocols, and do due diligence on our side to make sure that what we integrate with actually makes sense for users. With DeFi, you know there’s no customer service, there are no recalls. Your keys, your decision — there is no centralised exchange helping you on that front.