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On January 12, India blocked access to the websites of numerous offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, including Gate.io, OKX, Kucoin, Binance, and many more. Only a few days prior, these platforms had been taken down from the nation’s Apple App Store.
The decision was made as a result of show-cause notices that the finance ministry sent to these platforms on December 28 due to their alleged violations of the nation’s anti-money laundering legislation.
Binance, Kucoin, Houbi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex were among the companies targeted by the notice, which claimed that they were operating illegally in India by neglecting to register and follow local tax laws.
The recent website restrictions were the result of an instruction from the finance ministry to the information technology ministry to block the URLs of these platforms in response to the alleged violations. VPNs can still be used to access the websites of these exchanges, though.
Binance Assures Indian Users Their Funds are Safe
Confirming the situation, Binance sent an email to its customers in India, clarifying that it only impacts users attempting to access the Indian iOS app store or the Binance website from India. However, existing users with the Binance app are reportedly unaffected by the restriction.
In order to protect users and promote the growth of a thriving Web3 sector, Binance stressed its dedication to abiding by local laws and regulations and asserted that it is in constant communication with regulators.
The platform reassured users that all funds are secure and asked users to reach out to them on Twitter via direct messages.
Although Binance recognized the wider effect on other Web3 industry participants, it placed a strong emphasis on working together to support positive policy-making that benefits users and market participants. As of right now, emails requesting information about the situation have not received a response from Kucoin or OKX.
Indian Exchanges Report Higher Deposits Amid Crackdown on Offshore Exchanges
Sumit Gupta, the CEO and founder of CoinDCX, the top cryptocurrency exchange in India, made the following statement to Cryptonews regarding the ongoing, broader crackdown on offshore exchanges due to noncompliance:
Since the FIU show cause notice to non FIU compliant exchanges, CoinDCX has been actively supporting investors who wanted to return to FIU compliant exchanges. We have opened deposit routes and are diligently working to make this shift easier, prioritizing a safe and flawless experience for users. We have observed a notable increase in investors depositing crypto over the last week.
As previously reported, CoinDCX recorded a 2000% increase in user deposits since the show-cause notice sent to offshore cryptocurrency exchanges by India’s finance ministry on December 28.