Binance and KuCoin Apps Removed from India’s App Store

Apple has removed ten apps of foreign cryptocurrency exchanges from the App Store in India following complaints from local authorities, reports CoinDesk.

The affected platforms include Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.

In late December 2023, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit accused these exchanges of operating without registration and violating anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws.

The regulator issued warnings to the companies and demanded that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology block their domains in the country.

OKX was also affected by Apple’s restrictions, despite not receiving prior notice.

Cryptocurrency exchange apps remain available on the Google Play marketplace. The trading platforms’ URLs also continue to function.

In early 2021, India announced a potential legislative ban on cryptocurrencies, even considering criminal liability for owners. By mid-year, there was information suggesting that authorities would legalize digital currencies as an asset class.

However, in November, the government again expressed intentions to ban most “private currencies,” causing panic in the local market and a temporary 15% drop in Bitcoin’s price.

Despite the lack of a legal framework, India tightened levies on traders and investors in 2022. The law imposes a 30% tax on cryptocurrency transactions and 1% under TDS.

In July 2023, the Supreme Court reprimanded the local government for delays in developing a regulatory framework for digital assets.