Apple India App Store Removes Binance and Other Crypto Exchanges

By: Eva Baxter

Apple's Indian App Store has taken down various foreign-based cryptocurrency exchange applications, including Binance. This move has been confirmed by Binance South Asia. The company reassured that the current situation will not impact existing app users and committed to complying to local regulations and maintaining dialogue with global regulators to ensure the continuity of their services. Reports have revealed that other affected exchanges are Kraken, MEXC Global, HTX and Gate.io.

Apple's removal of these cryptocurrency applications aligns with their harsh take on cryptocurrencies. In 2022, Coinbase Wallet and Trust Wallet were temporarily removed from the store before being reinstated. Uniswap also came across difficulties while trying to get listed on Apple's App Store before April 2023.

Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of local crypto exchange platform CoinSwitch, connects the removal to a show cause notice from India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) sent to several offshore crypto trading platforms last year. The notice cited non-compliance with the country's Prevention of Money Laundering Act by several of these offshore entities. It was consequently requested by the regulator that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology block these firms' URLs.

However, Singhal advised the impacted exchanges to comply with local regulations to ensure the protection of their Indian users and added that offshore exchanges should actively consider registering with the FIU-IND and adhere to India's AML and CFT measures for improved consumer protection.