On Thursday, Delta Exchange, a cryptocurrency derivative trading platform, announced that it is going to commence its operations in India. With this launch, Delta Exchange also claims that it is the first and only platform in India that is offering options trading on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other crypto assets. 

Delta Exchange was founded in 2018 by a team of experienced finance professionals and tech entrepreneurs. Delta Exchange is headquartered in Singapore, a strategic location given the country’s favorable stance towards cryptocurrency innovation and regulation. The primary aim of Delta Exchange is to offer a robust, secure, and user-friendly platform for trading cryptocurrency derivatives, including futures, options, and perpetual swaps. 

 The founding team includes Pankaj Balani (CEO), Jitender Tokas (Chief Business Officer), and Saurabh Goyal (CTO). Delta Exchange is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, and meets the regulatory requirements for crypto exchanges. In addition to this, the exchange does not support withdrawals or deposits of cryptocurrency, which eliminates the risks that are generally associated of crypto custody.  

Delta Exchange promises to provide a secure trading experience for Indian traders, enabling them to trade using INR. Additionally, traders can operate on the derivative exchange without needing to hold stablecoins or any other cryptocurrency tokens. On the Global level, Delta Exchange has been operating for over six years, facilitating crypto trading of derivative products such as daily expiry options, altcoin options, and interest rate swaps, among others. 

Cofounder and CEO Pankaj Balani said, “Our launch in India marks a significant milestone in our mission to bring a secure, compliant and trader-centric platform for Futures & Options (F&O) traders in the country. “Delta Exchange’s unique platform focuses on select crypto derivatives, thus eliminating the need to park crypto assets for trading, allowing users to trade with confidence.” “This approach ensures that both seasoned traders and newcomers can explore the opportunities in crypto derivatives within a secure and compliant environment. Additionally, it allows traders to deal in INR only, making the process smooth and transparent,” Balani added. 

Founded in 2018, the startup is backed by prominent investors including CoinFund, Sandeep Nailwal’s family office, Aave, Kyber Network, and SinoGlobal Capital. The company reports a monthly transaction volume of USD 17 billion and a year-over-year growth rate of 160 percent. The company already has series A funding, and the company also claims to have more than 1 lakh Indian users in the beta version of the platform. The daily trading volume reached $300 million at its peak within just two months of the beta launch, as per the company.  

Delta Exchange’s entry in India comes at a time when the government is tightening its supervision on the cryptocurrency sector and is imposing hefty fines on foreign cryptocurrency exchanges that have previously not complied to these laws. Earlier this month, the FIU slapped a hefty fine of more around $2.25 million on crypto exchange Binance for defying the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). 

Delta Exchange aims to be a leading platform for cryptocurrency derivatives trading, providing innovative financial products and fostering a secure and transparent trading environment.