Binance and Kraken Delisted from Apple App Store in India
The world’s leading centralized app store, Apple, delists Binance and Kraken from their App Store in India as regulatory pressures pile up. Aside from popular crypto exchanges, Apple also delists six other companies for alleged non-compliant violations from the government.
India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) made some initial steps before the delisting process as they sent “compliance show cause” letters to at least nine exchanges reportedly operating illegally in the sub-continent of India.
World-renowned technology company Apple’s decision to remove Binance and Kraken from their app store in India came to fruition after months of user speculations. Bloomberg reported that the move was under the direct order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The removal of Binance, Kraken, and six other crypto exchanges was in relation to the earlier “compliance show letter” sent to Binance, Kraken, MEXC Global, Bitfinex, KuCoin, Bittrex, and Huobi, now operating as HTX.
Aside from the Apple app store banning Binance, Kraken, and other leading crypto exchanges in India, the Ministry also issued a similar order to the Google Play Store. Still, the company had yet to remove the apps from its Play Store since the issuance of the letter. For the record, in the Indian smartphone market, 95% of users preferred the Play Store compared to around 3.9% of the users utilizing the App Store.
The Indian government, through the FIU, had also recommended that the Information Ministry ban the exchanges’ websites. Still, according to some sources, it has yet to happen due to the issue’s complexity. Although the Binance app is no longer available in the Indian App Store, the crypto exchange assured their existing users that the delisting will not affect them.
Binance’s subsidiary in India claimed that they are committed to resolving the stalemate with the government, and they will work with the regulators to resolve the situation and share updates. They posted a statement on Twitter (X) that the company was “exploring all avenues to establish a long-term sustainable business in India”.
Indian Government Approach to Crypto Exchanges
Local Binance users and crypto exchanges delisted on the Apple App Store have been advised to transfer their assets to compliant, FIU-registered Indian exchanges to maintain control and mitigate risks associated with non-compliant platforms.
The government of India has taken a firm stance on various cryptocurrencies, including controversial exchanges operating in the sub-continent. In 2023, the government imposed a 30% flat tax on all crypto income and later added a 1% tax deducted at source, or TDS, on crypto trades above 10,000 Indian rupees (US$120).
Local exchanges, such as CoinDCX, have blamed the 1% levy for crushing the local industry’s trading volumes, driving many traders to seek global platforms with less stringent know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. India’s central bank and governing body, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), previously attempted to ban cryptocurrencies, but crypto users later favored the decision after the Supreme Court overturned it.
India’s Alleged Purging against Crypto Exchanges
India is considered a global digital asset powerhouse and was only second to the United States last year based on raw transaction volume. However, the Indian market has experienced a shift over the past two years, with the government’s tax drive pushing most of the trading volume from local to offshore exchanges.
The FIU’s crackdown on the offshore exchanges also received overwhelming support from the local exchanges. According to Indian VDA exchanges, they are already compliant with India’s PMLA requirements for VASPs, and there is no reason offshore exchanges shouldn’t do the same if they wish to do business in India.
The ban on foreign exchanges, according to some experts in the industry, may aid the recovery of local platforms. Still, regulatory reforms are the only permanent solution to the ongoing problems involving local and offshore exchanges in India.
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