- Apple has removed apps of nine cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, from its Indian App Store
- India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has been cracking down on offshore exchanges recently
- Some exchanges are still operational, but potentially not for long
Apple has removed the apps of at least nine cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, from its App Store in India. This action follows a recent crackdown by India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which issued show cause notices to these exchanges, alleging non-compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering rules. The FIU had previously requested India’s IT Ministry to block the websites of these exchanges in the country, and it seems that Apple’s actions may be the first step in this direction.
Latest Move in Wider Crackdown
India has escalated its crackdown on overseas cryptocurrency exchanges in recent weeks, with the exchanges, which also include the likes of Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex, and Bitfinex, accused of operating illegally in the country.
In late December the FIU issued show-cause notices to the exchanges and urged the information ministry to block their URLs, citing non-compliance with India’s Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework.
Some Exchanges Still Accessible…For Now
The move is aligned with India’s broader efforts to enhance regulatory oversight in the cryptocurrency sector, although crypto users in the country face a 30% tax on transactions carried out on domestic exchanges. This has led to users flocking to offshore platforms, a move that the government is now trying to curtail, seemingly with success.
Two more exchanges named by the FIU—Bitstamp and OKX—are still operational, although OKX’s app disappeared from the App Store.
While the apps have been removed from Apple’s App Store, they are still available on the Google Play Store in India, and their websites remain accessible, while users who previously installed the apps can still access them. The prognosis doesn’t look good, however, and it’s likely just a matter of time before this avenue is also cut off for Indian users.
