As India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) examines registration petitions from four international cryptocurrency exchanges, the country’s cryptocurrency market is growing quickly.
According to the source, two of these organizations could be granted permission to start operating in India by the end of the financial year 2025.
Evaluating their operations
The source claims that before India’s regulatory crackdown in 2023, the two exchanges that could be approved would undergo a thorough evaluation of their operations, with a focus on non-compliance concerns.
The severity of their prior non-compliance and the scope of their operations in India will determine the penalties that will be applied.
“Only after complete due diligence will we allow any crypto exchange to operate in India,” the source emphasized. “We are very strict about compliance.”
Significant regulatory developments have preceded the possible approval of these new exchanges. Since then, Binance and KuCoin have reopened for business and registered as reporting businesses. While KuCoin returned in March 2024 after paying a punishment of Rs 34.5 lakh, Binance cooperated in August 2024.
At now, 48 crypto entities are registered in India. In the meantime, the government is anticipated to publish a consultation document in September or October of this year in order to determine whether to outlaw or permit cryptocurrency assets in the nation. This comes after the IMF-Financial Stability Board released a report in September 2023 outlining national principles for cryptocurrency regulation, including safeguards for investors and anti-money laundering procedures.
The $230 million cyberattack on WazirX in July 2024 is one example of the crypto-related attacks that the government is keeping an eye on. A requirement mandating all cryptocurrency exchanges to register as reporting companies with the FIU was issued by India’s Finance Ministry in 2023.
In response to this directive, the FIU alerted nine well-known overseas exchanges—Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, and Bitfinex—that they had not complied with AML and registration standards.
Indian authorities essentially stopped these platforms’ activities within the nation by blocking access to their websites and mobile applications as part of a statewide crackdown.
The enforcement action is in line with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a statute that ensures responsibility and openness in financial transactions in order to prevent financial crimes.
The Rising Crypto Market in India and Its Difficulties
India was identified by Chainalysis as having the greatest rate of cryptocurrency adoption in 2023. This trend was driven by a number of factors, including a young population that is tech-savvy and a rapidly rising smartphone penetration rate. Since more than half of Indians are under 25, the country’s digital natives have contributed to the quick adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
India has over 20 million registered cryptocurrency investors as of 2023, up from 8.25 million the year before.
During this time, over $1 billion was made in income from cryptocurrency in India, which attracted foreign exchanges seeking to broaden their worldwide reach.
The regulatory landscape is still strict, nonetheless, especially with regard to foreign exchanges.
The post Two More Crypto Exchanges to Get Approval from India’s FIU by 2025 appeared first on Coinfomania.
