binance, Kraken, Mexc and Kucoin are among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges targeted by India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which has taken further action, including removing their applications from the Apple App Store in India. As a result of the enactment of new tax rules for virtual currencies in the previous year, this new development represents a significant step in India’s ongoing attempts to regulate cryptocurrency businesses.
In late December 2023, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) issued letters of explanation to nine cryptocurrency companies for violating India’s anti-money laundering laws. Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitfinex, and others are all among the nine exchanges targeted. Bitstamp is the only exchange whose app is still confirmed to be active on the Indian App Store.
This move by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an agency under India’s Ministry of Finance, reflects the growing scrutiny and regulatory pressure applied to cryptocurrency businesses in the country. The country has implemented a tax policy that will impose a 30% tax on cryptocurrency trading profits in 2023 and deduct 1% per transaction. Due to the strict regulatory environment, a significant number of dealers in India have shifted their operations to global cryptocurrency platforms, in what appears to be an attempt to avoid paying these taxes. Nonetheless, India-based cryptocurrency exchanges such as CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX continue to implement strict Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has recommended that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) restrict the URLs of these nine cryptocurrency exchanges in India. This is an important step in halting the activity of global platforms in the country. This step has been taken to ensure that these organizations comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework prescribed under the Indian Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
By taking these steps, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has demonstrated India’s commitment to regulating the cryptocurrency industry and protecting the financial system from potential risks associated with uncontrolled digital assets. The Indian government is targeting key businesses such as Binance and Kraken to send a strong message about compliance within the cryptocurrency industry.
CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber, two India-based cryptocurrency exchanges, had earlier issued a warning to the government, saying the new tax policy could push customers to non-compliant decentralized exchanges or services. The government’s determination to manage the cryptocurrency market and prohibit circumvention of the legal framework is demonstrated by recent crackdowns aimed at this.
As the situation continues to develop, it will be very important to closely monitor the reaction of these global exchanges and the impact this will have on the overall cryptocurrency market in India. The tough stance taken by the Indian government is likely to change the digital currency trading environment in the country, impacting both traders and exchanges.
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