Apps from as many as eight crypto exchanges including Binance, Kraken, Mexc and Kucoin have disappeared from Apple’s App Store in India, less than two weeks after the global companies were flagged for “illegal operation” in the country. The Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government agency that monitors financial transactions, late last month issued notices to nine crypto companies and alleged they were not complying with India’s anti-money laundering rules.
FIU had asked India’s IT ministry to block the websites of all the nine agencies in India. Other exchanges whose apps have been pulled include Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex and Bitfinex. Bitstamp, another offending exchange named by the FIU, was still operating on the App Store in India.
The apps are still listed on the Google Play Store in India and their websites are also accessible in the country. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many Indian traders have turned to global cryptocurrency platforms in recent quarters in an apparent tax evasion move. India began taxing virtual currencies last year, imposing a 30% tax on profits and a 1% discount on every crypto transaction. India-based cryptocurrency exchanges, including a16z-backed CoinSwitch Kuber, B Capital-backed CoinDCX, and former Binance partner WazirX, continue to require strict customer-centric verifications before onboarding new users, the same is not the case for many global platforms. (Trading volume on WazirX has fallen by a staggering 97% in two years, in part because many traders have moved to global apps.)
“CoinSwitch and CoinSwitch PRO, as well as many other Indian VDA exchanges, are already compliant with India’s PMLA requirements for VASPs, and there is no reason why offshore exchanges should not do the same if they wish to operate in India.” Ashish Singhal, Co-Founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, wrote to X. “Offshore exchanges should actively consider registering with FIU-IND and comply with India’s anti-exploitation and anti-destruction measures. This is also better for consumer protection in India as there will be greater regulatory oversight of the ecosystem.”
Indian cryptocurrency exchanges CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber had previously warned the New Delhi government that its new cryptocurrency tax policy would lead many users to switch to decentralized exchanges or seek non-compliant services. On Tuesday, CoinDCX announced that it will provide rewards to customers who transfer their crypto assets from global exchanges to its India-based platform.
India has historically taken a hard line against cryptocurrencies and the companies that allow them to be traded. The Reserve Bank of India implemented a ban on cryptocurrencies in the country about half a decade ago. While that ban was eventually overturned by India’s Supreme Court, the central bank has persisted in upholding the illegal crypto ban ever since, and its top officials have likened the virtual digital assets to a Ponzi scheme.
Coinbase, another popular global crypto exchange, stopped onboarding new customers in India last year. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong claimed in 2022 that the company was facing “unofficial pressure” from India’s central bank.
