Key takeaways:
- The Indian government issued a violation warning against almost a dozen off-shore crypto exchanges; weeks later, Apple’s App Store in India barred those apps.
- The FIU-notified cryptocurrency exchanges are still accessible on Google Play Store and web versions while being blocked by Apple’s App Store.
The Indian government issued a violation warning against almost a dozen off-shore cryptocurrency exchanges, and weeks later, Apple’s App Store in India barred the apps for Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC. India is no longer able to add new users to these exchange programs.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Indian Ministry of Finance sent notices to Binance, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, KuCoin, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfinex on December 28, 2023, accusing them of operating illegally in India.
Any exchange providing services to Indian users is required by the FIU notice to register as a “reporting entity” and submit statements to the income tax department.
The FIU advised the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to restrict the websites of the exchanges in question due to their noncompliance.
The FIU-notified cryptocurrency exchanges are still accessible on Google Play Store and web versions while being blocked by Apple’s App Store.
In a tweet, Binance’s Asia-focused X (formerly Twitter) handle acknowledged that the app is blocked in India but guaranteed that current users won’t be affected. They stated:
“The ongoing situation is not unique to #Binance and we remain committed to complying with local regulations and maintaining dialogue with regulators worldwide to ensure the continued availability of our services.”
The volume on cryptocurrency exchanges fell after India placed a 30% tax on cryptocurrency and a 1% tax deduction at source for each trade, and Indian customers flocked to overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to dodge the high tax regime. As a result, the most recent move forbids using foreign exchanges.
Regulations are becoming more and more in demand, which is why the Indian government recently took action. At the just-completed Group of 20, or G20, summit, the Indian government demanded international cooperation regarding cryptocurrency regulation.
The Indian finance ministry has promised to present a crypto bill in the parliament, but the community has long called for a fair and balanced regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
