Where to buy Ethereum in India?

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• January 27, 2018

With the recent surge in prices of both Bitcoin and Ethereum, investors in India are getting more interested in cryptocurrencies. But acquiring and storing cryptocurrencies in India could be a complicated process as cryptocurrencies remain in a legal grey area and it’s challenging to ensure official resellers. Here’s a look at the best places to buy Ethereum in India.

Koinex

Koinex is one of the newer cryptocurrency exchanges in India but is very popular because of its Open Book Exchange, a unique feature among Indian cryptocurrency exchanges which lets users make trading decisions based on market depth. To use Koinex, customers need to get Know Your Customer verification done by submitting scans of their government-issued ID cards to Koinex. In addition to Ethereum, users can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple on Koinex.

BitBay

BitBay is the newest addition to Indian cryptocurrency space which supports several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin Ether, Lisk, Litecoin, Monero, Game Credits, and Dash. Polish Bitcoin exchange BitBay has started operations in India, as part of a move geared towards the expansion of its cryptocurrency trading business making it the first international venture to enter the Indian cryptocurrency space. BitBay currently accounts for more than 60% of the cryptocurrency market in central Europe, so it is undoubtedly a major player among the cryptocurrency exchanges. In its home country of Poland, BitBay enables users to pay at stores and restaurants with cryptocurrency. Poland-based customers are also issued individual debit cards that can be used for ATM withdrawals. While it is not clear if BitBay is planning to offer similar services to its Indian users, it still has the potential to become one of the largest exchanges based on the number of cryptocurrencies it is offering to trade on its platform.

Converting from Bitcoin via Changelly/Shapeshift

Changelly and Shapeshift lets users who have Bitcoins convert their Bitcoins into Ether or any other cryptocurrencies without the hassle of getting Know Your Customer verification or making new accounts on exchange websites. But there’s a price to pay for the convenience these services offer concerning higher exchange rates compared to what one would expect to pay on an actual exchange like Bittrex or Binance.

Ether Rush

Ether Rush lets Indian users buy Ether in India in increments of 0.25 Ether very similar to how products are purchased on Amazon. Users have to register on the Ether Rush website after which they can add the quantity of ether they want in the cart and pay for it. Ether Rush offers an escrow service with users don’t get charged until they get paid in Ether. Ether rush does not provide wallet services, so users have to transfer the Ether to their wallets to hold their funds.

BuyUCoin

BuyUCoin offers Indian users buy, sell, trade, and store 30 cryptocurrencies, altcoins, tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Neo, Bitcoin Cash and much more directly with Rupees (INR) in India. The process to get started is pretty standard where users have to register on the BuyUCoin website and then get verified before they can buy cryptocurrencies.

EthexIndia

EthexIndia launched in March 2016, making it one of the first marketplaces for Indian for buying Ethereum. It not only allows users to buy Ethereum but also permits to trade in it. Users can just buy Ether from EthexIndia in increments of 1, which could be a problem for people who want to buy smaller quantities. But they also have a 24×7 customer service which is very handy for beginners.