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Four offshore cryptocurrency exchanges are eyeing a return to the Indian market
India’s financial watchdog, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), has received fresh petitions from offshore cryptocurrency exchanges seeking to resume operations in India.
According to a June 14 relationship by local newspaper Business Standard, a senior government official said that four more cryptocurrency exchanges have requested permission to resume operations in India.
The new request comes after global cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and KuCoin were approved by the financial regulator to restart their operations in India.
Both exchanges were previously banned for operating illegally against anti-money laundering policies in India.
KuCoin resolved previous non-compliance issues with a fine of $34.5 lakh (approximately $41,200), following which the ban on its websites in India was lifted.
On the other hand, Binance is still in the process of settling its liabilities and is expected to pay a fine of $2 million.
“We expect them to become active very soon,” the official said.
The official did not reveal the identities of the four new applicants.
India currently has 46 registered crypto companies, and the approvals of Kucoin and Binance will bring the total to 48.
Last year, several other cryptocurrency exchanges, including Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex, were banned. This has had a negative impact on the Indian cryptocurrency industry and has pushed many traders towards foreign exchanges.
Recently, Binance stopped allowing cash payments for cryptocurrency transactions between users in India. This decision is aimed at complying with regulations and improving its reputation in the market despite the limitation of a previously available payment method (cash versus bank transfer) for crypto transactions.
India has attempted to integrate the cryptocurrency industry into its banking system.
Last year, the government asked cryptocurrency companies to collect Know Your Customer (KYC) details and register with the FIU.
These rules apply to all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in India, regardless of physical location.
From mandating FIU registration and compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), India seeks to integrate the cryptocurrency sector into its existing financial system and establish a regulatory and monitoring framework.