Popular cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has announced the launch of a peer-to-peer trading platform in India, that will allow users to buy bitcoin and Tether’s USDt using the country’s fiat currency, with 0% transaction fees.

According to an announcement the exchange published, the OKEx P2P trading platform will use “India’s most widely used payment methods,” including UPI,I MPS, NEFT, and others. It will also benefit from the OKEx infrastructure when it comes ot market depth, KYC processes, and prices.

The platform will go live today, August 5, and will Indian users to buy cryptocurrencies with Indian rupees (INR) while staying clear of transaction fees. While at launch it will only support two cryptoassets, more are set to be made available in the near future. In the announcement OKEx’s CEO Jay Hao was quoted as saying:

We believe that blockchain technology will eliminate barriers to transactions, and 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.

Hao added OKEx will also improve India’s ecological layout and enhance the trading experience of local users. The cryptocurrency exchange notes that an estimated 5 million people, out of India’s 1.3 billion, own cryptocurrencies, meaning there’s significant growing potential in the country.

The OKEx P2P platform will be an INR fiat onramp for Indian users, and will be tied to users’ accounts at OKEx, allowing them “to access the wider OKEx trading ecosystem with ease.” The announcement comes after the Supreme Court of India overturned in March a ban from the Reserve Bank of India on banks having working relationships with cryptocurrency companies.

OKEx’s announcement cites data from Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX, which shows that after the ban was overturned, BTC/INR trading volumes experience a 1,031% month-on-month, with the growth being of over 100% in April.

While the ban was lifted, OKEx notes that the vague regulatory policy has seen some banks refuse to open accounts for cryptocurrency exchanges, claiming they are waiting for more instructions from the central bank when it comes to cryptoassets. Traders in the country are still unwilling to connect their bank accounts to any cryptocurrency-related activities.

Things may improve in the near future, as the Indian government is in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the RBI to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. As CryptoGlobe reported, OKEx initially entered the Indian market via a partnership with local cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX.

Featured image by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash.