Following a warning from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Indian App Store recently shut down leading global cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kraken and KuCoin. The Financial Intelligence Unit targeted nine global cryptocurrency exchanges for allegedly failing to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) laws, and called on the Ministry of Information Technology to block access to these platforms within the country. Here are the details…
App Store removes Binance and other exchanges from its app list
As of January 10, 2024, the Indian App Store has cleared the listings of Binance, Kraken, KuCoin, Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitfinex, and Bitstamp. Bitstamp in particular is an exception and is still available on the platform. This action created a disparity in the availability of apps, with the Google Play Store continuing to host these apps. The Financial Intelligence Unit’s flagged list includes some of the most widely used global exchanges and their removal from the Indian App Store is expected to have a significant impact on the accessibility of these platforms for Indian users. The government’s strict stance against non-compliance with financial regulations has led to this crackdown, which has potential repercussions for both users and affected exchanges.
The move comes at a time when Indian cryptocurrency investors are increasingly turning to global exchanges, especially Binance, to seek refuge from the strict local tax regime. Since the government implemented a significant 30% tax in July 2022, Binance alone has witnessed a remarkable 429,000 downloads as of September. In contrast, local exchanges such as WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber experienced a significant decrease in trading volumes ranging from 80-90%.
India is acting aggressively against global stock markets
But the situation seems to be turning around as India adopts an aggressive stance towards global stock markets. This push drives user traffic back to local platforms, inadvertently empowering local exchanges and breathing new life into their user bases. Government measures to tighten regulatory control over the cryptocurrency market are reshaping the landscape in the Indian crypto space and influencing user preferences. As the situation unfolds, industry participants will closely monitor how these developments impact the broader crypto ecosystem in the country.
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