Binance confirms Apple India App Store exchange removal amid regulatory concerns Binance confirms Apple India App Store exchange removal amid regulatory concerns
Binance and other impacted exchanges had failed to comply with the adequate regulatory framework in India.
2 min read
Updated: Jan. 10, 2024 at 11:11 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Crypto exchange Binance confirmed that its application and several foreign-based exchange applications have been removed from Apple’s Indian App Store.
Binance South Asia said:
“We are aware of new changes that have been introduced regarding crypto exchanges on the iOS App Store in India, impacting the Binance App. The ongoing situation is not unique to Binance and we remain committed to complying with local regulations and maintaining dialogue with regulators worldwide to ensure the continued availability of our services.”
However, the firm assured its existing app users that they were unaffected and would work with the regulators to resolve the issue.
Social media reports further revealed that the other impacted exchanges include Kraken, MEXC Global, HTX (formerly Huobi), and Gate.io.
Removing these crypto-related applications from the App Store is consistent with Apple’s stringent stance on crypto. In 2022, Coinbase Wallet and Trust Wallet were both briefly unavailable in the store before being reinstated. Uniswap also reported difficulty obtaining a listing on Apple’s App Store before April 2023.
Why were they removed?
Ashish Singhal, the co-founder and chief executive of local crypto exchange platform CoinSwitch, attributed the removal to India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) show cause notice sent to several offshore crypto trading platforms last December.
At the time, the FIU cited these crypto firms’ non-compliance with the country’s Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act and lamented that “several offshore entities, though catering to a substantial part of Indian users, were not getting registered” under the necessary regulatory frameworks.
As such, the regulator told the Asian country’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block these firms’ URLs.
However, Singhal advised the impacted exchanges to comply with local regulations to ensure that their Indian users are adequately protected.
“Offshore exchanges should actively consider registering with the FIU-IND and comply with India’s AML and CFT measures. This is also better for consumer protection in India since there will be greater regulatory oversight of the ecosystem,” Singhal added.
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Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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In this article
Apple
Apple is a multinational American technology company with its main office in Cupertino, California.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
KuCoin
KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange for numerous digital assets and cryptocurrencies that launched in September 2017.
MEXC Global
MEXC Global is a centralized crypto exchange with vast crypto-related services.
Kraken
Kraken is a San Francisco-based digital asset exchange in euro volume and liquidity that trades various currencies, including Canadian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, and Japanese yen.
Gate.io
Gate Technology’s mission is to serve the blockchain industry by providing secure and reliable products to consumers and companies around the world.