Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has started operating again in India after being shut down for seven months. The closure was because Binance was accused of operating “illegally” in the country. On this day, Binance has announced that it has now registered as a reporting entity with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a government body responsible for monitoring financial transactions.
India blocked access to nearly a dozen foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin, and Mexc, at the end of last year. This action was taken based on the FIU’s recommendation. The FIU argued that these foreign exchanges needed to register in India to comply with the country’s laws against money laundering and financing terrorism.
The FIU’s decision came after a group of local cryptocurrency exchanges complained to the Indian Ministry of Finance. These local exchanges claimed they were losing business to foreign exchanges that were not following Indian regulations.
Although India is an important market for global tech companies, its cryptocurrency industry is still relatively small. Over the past five years, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put significant pressure on banks to cut ties with cryptocurrency companies. Additionally, the government’s strict tax policies have reduced interest in digital assets within the country.
Also last year, Coinbase, another major cryptocurrency exchange, stopped signing up new customers in India due to what it described as informal pressure from the RBI. These regulatory and financial challenges have slowed the growth of India’s crypto industry.
The situation worsened recently when WazirX, a local exchange and former partner of Binance, was hacked, leading to the loss of nearly half of its reserves. This incident was a major setback for local efforts to push for more crypto-friendly regulations in India.
Now that Binance has registered with the FIU, its website and mobile apps are accessible again in India. Binance said that this step is an important regulatory achievement for the company, marking the 19th such milestone globally.
Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, stated that this registration is a crucial step in Binance’s journey. He emphasized that by aligning with Indian regulations, Binance can better serve the needs of Indian users. He added that Binance is excited to expand its advanced platform to the growing Indian market and to support the development of the country’s virtual digital asset (VDA) sector.
