India has stepped up regulatory measures for offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, directing Apple to remove apps from cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance from the country's App Store.。

The recent regulatory measures were reportedly upgraded after the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) issued a notice at the end of December targeting nine platforms suspected of being mis-regulated.。

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has driven apps from platforms such as Bitfinex, HTX and Kucoin off the App Store。While the instructions were not made public, sources familiar with the matter revealed the intervention.。

Cryptocurrency crackdown intensifies

India's crackdown on offshore cryptocurrency platforms intensified in December after notifications to exchanges suspected of illegal operations。Indian cryptocurrency traders, fearing they may not be able to access funds, have started moving deposits to local compliant exchanges that comply with national regulations.。

India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has issued "compliance reasons notices" to a number of offshore exchanges, urging the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the websites of these exchanges.。Reported that these notices will Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.IO, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex are listed as entities operating illegally in the Indian cryptocurrency space.。

In addition, the second most populous country in Asia has also implemented anti-money laundering regulations in the cryptocurrency sector, increasing the source tax deduction (TDS) by 1%.。The move has reportedly led to the migration of transaction volumes to offshore trading venues。Local exchanges have also been affected, as traders look for platforms that do not impose such a tax, which significantly reduces their trading income.。

India's Cryptocurrency Regulatory Obligations

In addition, the obligation to comply with India's anti-money laundering law also applies to the operation of virtual digital asset service providers.。These regulations provide for reporting, record keeping and registration, highlighting the importance of complying with local laws, even for offshore exchanges。

Strict regulation of India's cryptocurrency industry has led to layoffs at some cryptocurrency exchanges。After a similar move in the cryptocurrency market, India's cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX chose to cut 12% of its workforce。In addition to the dire macroeconomic situation, the company attributed a large part of its woes to TDS regulations imposed by the Indian government.。