Google has taken down several offshore cryptocurrency exchanges from its Play Store in India, including Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC. This action comes after the same applications were delisted from India’s Apple App Store. The Indian government’s noncompliance notice prompted this removal, rendering these apps inaccessible to new users in the country.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Indian Ministry of Finance issued a notice on December 28, 2023, to Binance, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, KuCoin, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfinex. The notice accused these exchanges of operating illegally in India. According to the FIU, any exchange offering services to Indian users must register as a “reporting entity” and submit statements to the income tax department. The FIU suggested that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology block the websites of these exchanges due to their non-compliance.
Despite Google’s Play Store blocking these FIU-notified crypto exchanges, they remain accessible and functional for existing users who have the app installed and on the web. Binance’s Asia-focused X handle posted on the X platform, acknowledging the app blockage in India. They assured the safety of Indian users’ accounts and funds following Apple’s delisting.
India’s recent introduction of a 30% crypto tax and a 1% tax deduction on each crypto trade led to a decline in crypto exchange volumes. This prompted Indian users to turn to foreign exchanges to avoid the high tax rates. The latest move aims to limit the use of foreign exchanges. India’s Finance Bill, presented in the budget session of Parliament in January 2022–2023, altered tax regulations and introduced a 30% tax on cryptocurrency holdings and transfers. Furthermore, traders cannot offset losses against profits, and each trading pair is treated separately for tax calculations.
Attempts to reach Binance and KuCoin for comments have so far been unsuccessful.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Asia |
| Countries | 🇮🇳 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Daniele Servadei |
| Companies | Indian Ministry of Finance’s Financial Intelligence Unit, KuCoin, Kraken, Bitget, OKX, Bitfinex, Cointelegraph, Bittrex, MEXC Global, Binance, Google, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Bitstamp, Apple, Huobi, Gate.io, MEXC |
| Currencies | None |
| Securities | None |
