Apple's App Store in India has recently restricted access to several prominent cryptocurrency exchange apps, including Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC. This move follows the issuance of a noncompliance notice by the Indian government to nearly a dozen offshore crypto exchanges. As a result, these applications are now inaccessible to new users in India.
The crackdown began on December 28, 2023, when the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India's Ministry of Finance targeted exchanges like Binance, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, KuCoin, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfinex. The FIU mandated that any exchange offering services to Indian users must register as a "reporting entity" and comply with income tax submission requirements. The FIU also recommended that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology block the websites of these non-compliant exchanges.
Despite the App Store's ban, the affected cryptocurrency exchanges remain accessible through Google’s Play Store and their respective web versions. This partial restriction highlights the differing approaches of major digital platforms to the FIU's directives.
In response to the ban, Sumit Gupta, founder of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, expressed his views on X (formerly known as Twitter). He outlined a strategy for investors seeking to migrate from non-compliant foreign exchanges to compliant Indian counterparts. The Indian government had previously imposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrencies and introduced a 1% tax deduction at source on each cryptocurrency transaction. These measures led to a significant decline in trading volumes on domestic exchanges, pushing Indian users towards foreign exchanges to evade the hefty tax regime. The recent crackdown aims to curb the use of these offshore platforms.
The Indian government's latest measures reflect a growing global trend towards cryptocurrency regulation. At the recent G20 summit, India advocated for international collaboration in regulating cryptocurrencies. The Indian crypto community has been advocating for a balanced regulatory framework. Despite assurances from the Indian Finance Ministry, a comprehensive crypto bill is yet to be introduced in Parliament. In the midst of these developments, Binance's Asia-focused account acknowledged the app's restriction in India but reassured existing users that they would not be affected.
