Apple India has banned 9 other crypto exchanges Binance after the announcement of FIU
The Apple App Store in India has banned crypto exchange apps Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io and MEXC weeks after the Indian government issued non-compliance notices to nearly a dozen offshore crypto exchanges. These exchange apps are no longer accessible to new users in India.
On December 28, 2023, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Indian Ministry of Finance issued notices to Binance, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, KuCoin, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex and Bitfinex for operating illegally in India.
The FIU notice to Indian users said that any exchange service must register as a “reporting entity” and file returns with the Income Tax department. FIU has proposed to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to shut down the said exchange websites for not complying with the rules.
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Although the Apple App Store has blocked crypto exchanges recognized by the FIU, these are still available on the Google Play Store and web versions.
Sumit Gupta, founder of Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX, shared his thoughts on the recently banned foreign crypto exchange to X (formerly Twitter). He shared a plan for investors looking to migrate from non-compliant offshore exchanges to Indian exchanges.
[Community Update] Amid India's VDA landscape, where overseas exchange apps are now facing restrictions due to government regulations, CoinDCX has acknowledged the community's concerns. This is a critical time for VDA in India, and we for… pic.twitter.com/uTpxGqsHk0
— Summit Gupta (@smtgpt) January 10, 2024
After India imposed a 30% tax on crypto and a 1% tax deduction for every crypto trade, volume on crypto exchanges fell, and Indian users rushed to foreign crypto exchanges to avoid the high tax regime. Therefore, the latest action prohibits the use of foreign currency.
The recent move from the Indian government comes amid growing demand for regulation. At the recently concluded Group of 20 or G20 summit, the Indian government called for international cooperation on the crypto regulatory front. The Indian crypto community has long been calling for a balanced crypto regulatory framework, but despite numerous assurances, India's finance ministry has yet to introduce a crypto bill in parliament.
Binance's Asia-focused X handle tweeted that they were aware of the app shutdown in India, but confirmed that existing users would not be affected.
We are aware of the latest changes regarding the crypto exchange affecting the Binance app in the iOS app store in India.
What's going on isn't just for #Binance and it's about complying with local regulations and…
— Binance South Asia (@BinanceDesi) January 10, 2024
Binance, OKX and KuCoin did not respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.
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