Binance restarts services in India after seven-month regulatory halt

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has resumed operations for users in India after a seven-month hiatus imposed by a local authority for operating “illegally” in the country.

The exchange said Thursday it has registered as a reporting entity with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a government agency tasked with scrutinizing financial transactions.

India blocked nearly a dozen foreign crypto exchange services, including Binance, Kraken, KuCoin and Mexc, late last year at the recommendation of the FIU. The FIU said offshore exchanges needed to register locally to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism framework.

FIU’s move followed a group of local crypto exchanges complaining to the Indian Ministry of Finance that they were losing business to noncompliant foreign crypto exchanges.

Binance’s website and mobile apps have become operational again in India. Binance said in a statement that compliance with the Indian authority marks the 19th regulatory milestone for the firm.

“Our registration with the FIU-IND marks an important milestone in Binance’s journey,” said Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, in a statement.

“Recognizing the vitality and potential of the Indian VDA market, this alignment with Indian regulations allows us to tailor our services to the needs of Indian users. It is a privilege to extend the reach of our cutting-edge platform to this thriving market, supporting India’s continued VDA evolution.”

Despite India’s status as a crucial overseas nation for global tech behemoths, its cryptocurrency market remains relatively underdeveloped. Over the past five years, the Reserve Bank of India has exerted significant pressure on banks to distance themselves from cryptocurrency firms, while the government’s implementation of stringent tax policies has considerably diminished local enthusiasm for digital assets.

Coinbase stopped signing up customers from India in 2023 after facing what it described as informal pressure from the Indian central bank.

These regulatory and fiscal obstacles have effectively stunted the growth of India’s crypto ecosystem. The recent hack at WazirX, a local exchange and estranged Binance partner, where nearly half its reserves were lost, was another significant blow to local entrepreneurs’ efforts to advocate for a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment in the country.