In a significant move, Apple has reportedly removed Binance and seven other cryptocurrency platforms from its Indian App Store, complying with the Indian government’s request. This action marks an escalation in India’s crackdown on digital asset companies, on Jan. 10.
The removal of exchanges, including Bitfinex, HTX, and Kucoin, was carried out under the instructions of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, according to unnamed sources cited in the report. The authorities have also urged Google to remove these apps from their platforms.
This development follows an announcement made last month by the Financial Intelligence Unit India, revealing plans to block the URLs of nine offshore virtual digital asset service providers. The stated reason was that these companies were not in compliance with India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The targeted companies included Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.
In response to these measures, Binance reassured its customers about the safety of their funds in a message quoted by TechCrunch on Tuesday (Jan. 9). The world’s largest crypto exchange stated, “We are working hard to engage in constructive policy-making that seeks to benefit every user and all market participants. We continue to bet big on India as a leading Web3 market and are exploring all avenues to establish a long-term sustainable business in India.”
This development coincides with earlier reports this week that crypto companies and FinTechs faced fines totaling $5.8 billion in 2023 for inadequate financial controls, surpassing penalties against traditional finance firms for the first time. The fines were related to issues such as failure to implement proper money laundering measures or customer checks, and other financial crime-related issues, as reported on Tuesday (Jan. 9). In comparison, traditional financial services companies paid $835 million in fines last year, marking the lowest figure in a decade.
Dennis Kelleher, CEO of regulation advocacy group Better Markets, commented on the situation, suggesting that the high-profile fraud and criminality in the crypto arena compelled regulators and prosecutors to allocate resources to address these issues and deter further misconduct, emphasizing the need to curb such conduct in the cryptocurrency space.
