The Indian government has issued a violation warning against nearly a dozen off-shore cryptocurrency exchanges. Following this, Apple’s App Store in India has barred the apps for Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC, preventing the addition of 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. The FIU notice requires any exchange providing services to Indian users to register as a “reporting entity” and submit statements to the income tax department.
Due to noncompliance, the FIU advised the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to restrict the websites of the exchanges in question. However, the FIU-notified cryptocurrency exchanges are still accessible on Google Play Store and web versions, while being blocked by Apple’s App Store.
In response to the situation, Binance’s Asia-focused X (formerly Twitter) handle acknowledged that the app is blocked in India but assured 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.”
Following India’s imposition of a 30% tax on cryptocurrency and a 1% tax deduction at source for each trade, the volume on cryptocurrency exchanges fell as Indian customers turned to overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to avoid the high tax regime. Consequently, the recent move prohibits the use of foreign exchanges.
Regulations are increasingly in demand, prompting the Indian government to take action. At the recently concluded Group of 20, or G20, summit, the Indian government called for international cooperation on cryptocurrency regulation. The Indian finance ministry has pledged to present a crypto bill in parliament, responding to the community’s long-standing call for a fair and balanced regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
In other news, MuesliSwap is set to reimburse users amid slippage concerns. Wirex is providing Ukrainians access to over 20 cryptocurrencies and promising a crypto card. Stobox has been hacked, resulting in a 96% drop in STBU. Lastly, TRX Crypto is emerging as a rising star in the decentralized web.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Asia |
| Countries | 🇮🇳 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Bitstamp, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, KuCoin, Bitget, Google Play Store, Stobox, MEXC, Gate.io, OKX, Bittrex, Kraken, Binance, Wirex, Huobi, MEXC Global, Bitfinex, Apple’s App Store, MuesliSwap, TRX Crypto, Financial Intelligence Unit of the Indian Ministry of Finance |
| Currencies | OKX BETH, mexc, bitstamp, BUSD, Huobi, kraken, bittrex, Bitget Token, Gate, bitfinex, TRON, KuCoin |
| Securities | None |
