India Blocks Binance and 8 Other Major Crypto Exchanges

India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has accused nine offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC, and Bitfinex, of violating local anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. These exchanges were also found to be operating without proper registration, prompting the FIU to file a complaint with the Ministry of Finance, urging the blocking of all mentioned trading platform URLs.

Starting from March 2023, cryptocurrency businesses in India are required to register with the FIU. This step mandates crypto companies to align their operations with local anti-money laundering legislation, which includes mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification procedures. However, the accused crypto exchanges have failed to comply with this requirement.

Prior to these crackdowns, India was a significant player in the cryptocurrency market, experiencing substantial growth in activity from 2018 to 2022. The popularity of Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming segments was particularly noteworthy. In December 2022, local authorities decided to target gaming tokens as part of their efforts to combat money laundering through digital assets.

The crypto community is closely monitoring regulatory changes in India as the country has become a major crypto hub. According to triple-a data, approximately 6.55% of Indians own cryptocurrencies, surpassing Russia's 5.87% ownership rate.

Despite the crackdowns and stricter regulations, the percentage of Indians engaging in cryptocurrency transactions continues to rise steadily.