Apple has taken decisive action by removing the apps of nine major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, from its App Store in India. This move comes in the wake of warnings from the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), a government agency tasked with monitoring financial transactions. The exchanges were accused of failing to comply with India’s anti-money laundering regulations.
Last month, the FIU-IND expressed doubts about the legality of these exchanges’ operations in India. On December 28, show cause notices were dispatched to nine cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kucoin, Houbi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex. The allegations focused on their failure to register and comply with local tax laws.
In a swift response to these regulatory warnings, Apple decided to withdraw the apps of these exchanges from its App Store in India. This action prevents new users from downloading the apps, but existing Indian users who have already installed them can continue to use the applications on their iPhones. Currently, the apps are still available on the Google Play Store in India, and the exchanges’ websites remain accessible. However, there is speculation that Google may follow Apple’s lead and remove these apps from its Play Store, given the similar regulatory concerns raised by FIU-IND.
The issue of offshore exchanges operating without registration in India came to light in early December during a session in the Lok Sabha. In response, the finance ministry released a list of 28 registered crypto and virtual digital asset (VDA) platforms that comply with anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) guidelines under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Following this, show-cause notices were issued to major offshore platforms, including Binance and Kraken.
As regulatory measures tighten, many Indian traders are moving to global cryptocurrency platforms, possibly as a tax evasion strategy. Last year, India introduced cryptocurrency taxation, imposing a 30% tax on gains and a 1% deduction on each crypto transaction. While India-based exchanges continue to conduct rigorous know-your-customer verifications, global platforms have not adhered to the same standards. In essence, Apple’s removal of crypto exchange apps from its App Store in India, coupled with a heavy taxation regime, signifies the increasing scrutiny and regulatory challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry in the country.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Asia |
| Countries | 🇮🇳 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Finance Ministry, Kraken, Binance, Google, Lok Sabha, Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), OKX, Apple, KuCoin |
| Currencies | None |
| Securities | None |
