Binance Pays $2 Million Fine to Resume Operations in India After Ban
Summary:
Binance is set to resume operations in India after a four-month ban, by paying a $2 million fine for non-compliance. It will be the second foreign crypto exchange to return to India after KuCoin, following a nationwide block on non-compliant platforms. These foreign exchanges must now adhere to the same rules as local platforms. Unlike Binance and KuCoin, another leading crypto exchange, OKX, decided to close its operations amid the regulatory burden.
After a four-month hiatus prompted by a ban, Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, is poised to resume operations in India by paying a $2 million fine for regulatory non-compliance, says a Financial Times report. Becoming the second foreign exchange after KuCoin to return to India, Binance was among several cryptocurrency platforms blocked by the country's financial watchdog due to non-compliant activities. In the first week of January, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Indian Ministry of Finance halted access to nine international crypto exchanges, including Binance, for violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Interestingly, from pre-ban data, Binance was the platform-of-choice for a whopping 90% of India's cryptocurrency trading activities. Indians leveraged international exchanges like Binance primarily to circumvent heavy tax imposition. This led to the government barring non-FIU-registered, overseas exchange platforms.
Moving forward, foreign exchanges such as Binance will mandatorily have to comply with the same operating protocols as set for Indian platforms upon obtaining FIU registration. KuCoin has already started implementing a 1% source deduction tax, and other international crypto exchanges desiring to establish a presence in India will similarly be obligated.
According to an insider cited by ET, "(Binance) took more than two years to understand that there's no room for leniency, and no globally formidable entity can demand preferential treatment, particularly at the risk of making the country's financial system vulnerable."
Binance, which was widely believed to have taken over Indian crypto exchange WazirX in 2019, denies completion of such a deal. It asserts that it merely offered tech-backed wallet services for WazirX and the latter managed all other aspects including user management, KYC, trading and withdrawals.
While Binance and KuCoin make a comeback as FIU-compliant exchanges, another leading platform in the list of blocked crypto exchanges, OKX, chose to cease its operations completely due to regulatory constraints. Binance is yet to comment on the situation.
The news piece concludes with something around Bitcoin Halving, hinting it will benefit games, and revealing some hush-hush secret about Shrapnel's 'simple' strategy.
Published At
4/18/2024 10:50:51 AM
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