Anika Begay
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is now registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND). This would be a major move for Binance, which is looking to make a fresh attempt to establish operations in India.
The exchange had been banned from the country for seven months due to non-compliance with local laws. With the new registration, Binance is eyeing a share of the country’s rapidly growing cryptocurrency market.
#Binance It airs in India 🇮🇳
Binance is now registered as a reporting entity with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, marking our 19th global regulatory milestone!
Our website and app are now fully available for Indian users.
Read more 👇https://t.co/samyDmwwut
— Binance (@binance) August 15, 2024
Overcoming regulatory challenges
Binance has had trouble with its registration. Last month, FIU-IND fined the exchange Rs 18.82 crore, or about $2.25 million, for violating India’s anti-money laundering regulations.
This is the largest fine imposed on any cryptocurrency company. In December 2023, the FIU issued a warning to Binance and other exchanges for non-compliance with local laws. Shortly after these warnings, Binance was banned from trading via its website and mobile apps in January.
Binance CEO Richard Teng reportedly said that recognizing the vitality and potential of the Indian VDA market, this alignment with Indian regulations allows the exchange to tailor its services to Indian users.
The Indian Crypto Landscape
India has emerged as one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world. Based on Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index 2023, India ranks among the top five countries in the world in terms of projected transaction volume across all cryptocurrency exchanges.
Despite this progress, the registration could be a precursor to paving the way for other exchanges to join in. Some global crypto platforms, including KuCoin and Kraken, have also been investigated in India.
KuCoin recently paid a fine for its past non-compliance, while others, such as Bitstamp and OKX, simply stopped operating in the country. Binance’s registration could push these exchanges to comply.
Binance: Future Prospects and Compliance
As soon as the registration process is completed, Binance will restart its Indian operations. Very focused on compliance, it will strengthen its AML processes and speed up KYC. This step would mean that while remaining compliant with the country’s regulations, there is a safe trading environment for users.
Binance’s operation in India is essential, if not of utmost importance, as the country itself is very proactive in charting its own path to explore the potential of virtual digital assets. This could greatly influence the legality act of this exchange on the growth of the cryptocurrency market in India, opening up a wide variety of services and tools for users to meet their needs.
Featured image from www.bridgeindia.org.ukchart from TradingView
