2 More Offshore Crypto Exchanges May Get FIU's Nod To Resume India Operations Notably, based on the penalty imposed on Binance and KuCoin, the potential crypto exchanges can be expected to pay a heavy fine
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After Binance and KuCoin's registration with India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the organisation may grant clearance to two more offshore crypto exchanges to resume operations in India by March 2025.
In December last year, FIU issued compliance Show Cause Notices to nine offshore crypto platforms for alleged non-compliance with Indian anti-money laundering law including Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.
"We have received requests from four more offshore crypto exchanges to operate in India, and we assume that at least two of them will be permitted to resume operations by end FY25. This would be after undergoing a thorough review of transaction visibility, suspicious transaction reporting (STR), and other related issues," said a source familiar with Business Standard.
The names of the crypto exchanges that have requested are yet to be known.
Notably, based on the penalty imposed on Binance and KuCoin, the potential crypto exchanges can be expected to pay a heavy fine. The former paid a fine of approximately USD 2.25 million to the FIU for violating the country's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, while KuCoin was fully registered after paying INR 34.5 lakh.
"Only after complete due diligence, will we allow any crypto exchange to operate in India. We are very strict about compliance," the official added.
"Even though the value of the global cryptocurrency market has slightly decreased to $1.99 trillion, the continuous volume of $61.51 billion indicates that people are still interested in digital assets. To promote a more stable and open cryptocurrency market, India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is considering approval of additional offshore cryptocurrency exchanges. This initiative not only enhances regulatory clarity but also encourages innovation and investment in the sector. The FIU seeks to safeguard consumers and encourage the expansion of digital assets by creating a compliance framework," said Shivam Thakral, CEO, BuyUcoin.
