Despite the RBI’s banking restrictions, buying and selling cryptocurrency in India is now easier than ever. The exchanges in India have found innovative solutions to keep providing incredible services for trading cryptocurrencies in India.
Note: The article was published in January when INR deposits and withdrawals were delayed on exchanges, we are updating the article with latest developments in October 2018.
By now everyone has heard the news about the INR deposits and withdrawals delays, temporary halts on multiple exchanges. Well if you cannot deposit or withdraw your money, how can you buy Bitcoin and other Altcoins which are cheaper than the exchanges that holds your money?
Fear not, you can still buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at these places from people like us with a simple IMPS/NEFT bank transfer or even Cash at some of them. This process can also be referred to as OTC trade. Peer-2-Peer Bitcoin exchanges are bringing their businesses to India, to capitalise on the opportunities opening up. While the incumbent players rely on manual intervention and payment partners to process user deposits, P2P exchanges work differently.
You as a buyer have to make IMPS/NEFT transfer to the seller’s bank account to purchase Bitcoin. Once the payment is made and confirmed, you get your Bitcoin. All these exchanges follow an escrow model, meaning once you place an order the seller’s bitcoin is placed in Escrow so that he or she cannot run away with your money.
Not just that, P2P has become a method to deposit or withdraw INR on certain exchanges as well.
A quick disclaimer: Although rated safe and secure, Bitcoin trading carries a risk. Stay Vigilant
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Contents
1. Local Bitcoins
A decentralised platform that allows users from different countries to exchange bitcoin for the local currency. Local bitcoins is the most popular site in India for over the counter trade of Bitcoins. You can choose from existing dealers or create your own advertisement to purchase or sell Bitcoins.
Alternatively you can find an offline seller nearby and buy Bitcoins using Cash.

Fees: Buying and Selling Bitcoin is Free. Advertising on LocalBitcoins attracts a 1% fee from the trade.
2. CoinDCX
CoinDCX recently introduced INR wallets to deposit and withdraw INR. The deposits take less than a minute in most cases and withdrawals are done within 30 minutes.
CoinDCX now operates a crypto to crypto exchanges with high liquidity, pooling from major exchanges such as Binance and Huobi. With INR you can quickly buy and sell about 15 cryptocurrencies on their INR based exchange DCXinsta.
3. WazirX
WazirX is one of those exchange that pivot from INR fiat based trading to crypto to crypto trading. Now, all of the cryptocurrencies listed on WazirX can be traded with USDT, a USD backed stable coin. However, you can buy and sell USDT easily with WazirX’s first ever open order book automatic matching Peer to peer exchange. Phew, that is one mouthful description.
Fees: Buying and selling USDT with INR on WazirX P2P is free.
4. Koinex
Koinex was the first exchange in India to introduce XRP based crypto to crypto trading market. With BTC, ETH, XRP and INR based crypto trading markets, Koinex enjoys the title of having the most diversified crypto trading experience in India.
You can deposit and withdraw INR on Koinex using their unique Peer to Peer INR transfer system with both IMPS/NEFT and UPI.
5. Bitbns
Bitbns is once again one of the prominent exchanges in India. Despite the banking ban, Bitbns held on to its INR based trading and eventually provided solutions to keep INR deposits and withdrawals running.
The referral program of Bitbns is quite simple. Both the referred user and the referring user get INR 100 in their wallet that can be used for paying trade fees. The amount can only be used to pay trade fees.
6. Giottus
Giottus offers a peer to peer as well as spot exchange for Indian traders. It was recently in news for being one of the first exchanges to start INR deposits and withdrawals using unique Peer to peer system.
Giottus still guarantees INR withdrawal in 30 minutes or you get 10 XRP free. INR deposits are accepted by IMPS, NEFT and UPI.
7. Coindelta
Coindelta Cryptocurrency exchange just completed a year. So much has changed in a year, Coindelta moved to stable coin based market and now back at INR based trading.
With a peer to peer INR transfer method, traders can now deposit INR with IMPS or UPI to the exchange and buy or sell cryptocurrency on the INR market.
8. Instashift
Instashift started operations in India about seven months ago, since then they have launched their platform on six other countries. It is a peer to peer exchange allowing buying and selling of over 80 cryptocurrencies with fiat. Flip, another product by instashift is a crypto-to-crypto exchange for quick conversion.
Well that is our list folks, hope you guys can get the best deal out of this. Don’t forget to let us know in the comments below.
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