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India Imposes Comprehensive Ban on Nine Offshore Exchanges
Binance: Existing Users Unaffected by the Ban
India’s Cryptocurrency Trading Faces Heavy Taxes and Exchange Challenges
India Imposes Comprehensive Ban on Nine Offshore Exchanges
The Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU IND), a department under the Ministry of Finance, had issued compliance notices to nine well-known offshore exchanges on December 28 last year, accusing them of illegal operations and violations of anti-money laundering regulations.
The nine exchanges include:
Huobi
Bittrex
Gate.io
Kraken
KuCoin
Binance
Bitfinex
Bitstamp
MEXC Global
Subsequently, Indian authorities removed the above-mentioned exchanges from the Apple App Store on January 10 and blocked their official websites the next day. By January 14, the major exchange apps were also removed from the Indian Google Play Store.
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Binance: Existing Users Unaffected by the Ban
Before its Android app was removed, Binance stated:
Existing users who have downloaded the Binance app are unaffected. We are committed to complying with local regulations and laws and actively engaging with regulatory agencies to ensure user protection and the healthy development of the Web3 industry.
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The warning was issued in December, and the Indian App Store has already removed Binance, Kraken, and eight other exchanges.
)
India’s Cryptocurrency Trading Faces Heavy Taxes and Exchange Challenges
Coinbase had also notified Indian users in September last year that it would cease its services and recommended withdrawing funds from their accounts. However, a Coinbase spokesperson told the media at the time that it was only targeting accounts that no longer met the updated standards.
However, in May 2022, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that due to the “informal pressure” from the Reserve Bank of India, Coinbase had to temporarily suspend its trading services in India.
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Coinbase denies stopping Indian operations, reflecting the ongoing challenges in the Indian market.
)
In addition, India started levying a 30% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies and NFTs and imposed a 1% transaction tax on each cryptocurrency transaction.
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Indian regulations: 30% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies and NFTs to be implemented, digital rupee expected to be launched by 2023.
)
Binance
Kraken
KuCoin
MEXC
Exchange
India
Binance
Further Reading
The Indian App Store has already removed Binance, Kraken, and eight other exchanges, despite the warning issued in December.
What new value does CEO Richard Teng bring to Binance with compliance as its absolute advantage?