Jai Sahu
Mudrex, a startup supported by Y-Combinator and headquartered in California, has a branch that is officially registered with the Intelligence Unit of India.
The cryptocurrency investment platform Mudrex is introducing U.S. spot-bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its Indian clientele. Initially, Mudrex will introduce four spot ETFs – BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Vanguard.
The plan of the Indian cryptocurrency investment platform Mudrex is to make available U.S. spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to both institutional and retail investors in India, as stated by CEO and co-founder Edul Patel.
“This is much more valuable to institutions, as this was already available to retailers,” Patel commented during a CoinDesk interview. He added that retail clients could access spot-bitcoin ETFs through U.S. stock investing platforms, but “as far as we know” Mudrex is pioneering in offering this to institutions in India. “We are certainly the first Indian crypto platform to offer this service,” confirmed Patel.
In its first phase, Mudrex will list four spot ETFs – BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Vanguard.
Y-Combinator backs Mudrex, which has its headquarters in California. It also has a subsidiary registered with the Intelligence Unit of India and maintains a presence in the European Union with licenses in Lithuania and Italy. The firm will conduct the actual transactions through broker partners in the U.S., while its Indian subsidiary will manage the spot-bitcoin ETF service, Patel explained to CoinDesk.
The introduction marks a significant development amid India’s fragmented crypto regulatory framework, overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry. The RBI has expressed strong reservations about cryptocurrencies, recently arguing that India does not need to follow the U.S. in adopting crypto ETFs due to the potential risks to its economy. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry’s Intelligence Unit has registered numerous Indian crypto service providers and imposed heavy taxes on the sector. Although both entities aim to safeguard the Indian economy and its investors, their regulatory approaches may seem to diverge.
“The bitcoin spot ETF works as a security and Indians are allowed to purchase securities under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and, as a result, users or institutions specifically, who do want to get access to bitcoin can now start using the bitcoins through ETFs to diversify their portfolio,” Patel elaborated.
The LRS makes it easier for Indians to invest overseas. The Reserve Bank of India has set the annual LRS limit at $250,000. Mudrex enables investments in spot bitcoin ETFs through its platform, with a minimum of $5,000 and a maximum of $250,000.
“The LRS is the tricky part for most people and over there (in the U.S.), because we also have strong banking relationships, we’re able to help users do these transactions in a very seamless way, and that’s why these services are important,” stated Patel.
Patel also noted that of the 350 institutions Mudrex works with, about 20 have started the process of signing up, expecting transactions to average around $110,000.