The Curious Case of Binance, Kraken Disappearing from Apple India’s App Store: Details

The Indian government has recently issued notices to Binance and Kraken, seeking updates on their legal compliance statuses.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 10 January 2024 14:22 IST

The Curious Case of Binance, Kraken Disappearing from Apple India’s App Store: Details

Photo Credit: Apple

As of now, none of the affected exchanges have responded to this development

Highlights

The apps are still showing on Google PlayStore as of January 10
Apple has not given an explanation on the development as yet
The FIU has also not updated about the compliance statuses

Apple's App Store, as of Wednesday, January 10 is not showing a number of foreign crypto exchanges like Binance and Kraken in India. Several members of India's crypto community posted screenshots of their Apple Store searches on X, showing no results on the App Store. The development comes at a time when the government of India is laying mega focus on making sure that all crypto firms operating in the country, are registered with the concerned authorities.

The overnight disappearence of these foreign exchanges from App Store comes around a week after the Indian government issued notices seeking updates on their legal compliance statuses. At the time, the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had urged to government to ban these crypto exchanges until they show how compliant they are with India's crypto laws deployed so far.

Members of India's crypto community are actively discussing on social media reasons and warnings behind the disappearance of these apps from Apple's ecosystem in India. Along with Binance and Kraken, App Store searches on Mexc, Huobi, and Gate.io are also not shoing desired results.

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Dear @Binance , Please respond to your confirmation in FIU registration in India :flag-in: many of the users are in complete fear whether to go on or Stop from here..Please respond :pray:#Binance crypto exchange has been removed from the app store?@cz_binance @BinanceHelpDesk pic.twitter.com/Ygw2DExs4o
— Shivam Sharma (@ShivmETH) January 10, 2024

:rotating_light: Important Update:

Government Moves Against Non-Compliant Crypto Exchanges!

India plans to block URLs of 9 crypto exchanges, including Binance, due to anti-money laundering law violations.

:mega: App Store Takes Action: #Binance #Kucoin #MEXC #Gate.io #Huobi facing the heat… pic.twitter.com/KTDPeHbjmp
— Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) January 10, 2024

:rotating_light: BREAKING: :flag-in: Apple SHUTS DOWN major #crypto exchanges in India :scream:

:flag-in: #Binance, KuCoin, and OKX VANISH from App Store in India :flushed:

Is this the END of Crypto in India?

A thread :thread: pic.twitter.com/WJuDSm2j89
— Keyur Rohit (@CryptoKingKeyur) January 10, 2024

The move seems to be a part of the regulatory efforts that India is undertaking in regards to the crypto sector, aiming to to address concerns related to tax evasion.

After India imposed taxes on crypto incomes last year, many Indian traders decided to move their deposits to offshore international exchanges. Indians have to pay a 30 percent tax on all crypto earnings and one percent TDS on all crypto transactions. As soon as these laws went live in 2022, Indian crypto exchanges recorded a nosedive in trading volumes.

The government now wishes to narrow the margin of crypto misuse for criminal activities and silently promote the use of native exchanges.

“By asking offshore exchanges to register with the FIU-IND, the idea is to increase compliance with Indian laws on taxation, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and KYC norms. This will help create a level playing field between Indian and offshore exchanges, fortify compliance guardrails and also enhance consumer protection. This is also better for consumer protection in India,” Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and Group CEO, PeepalCo told Gadgets360.

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As of now, none of the affected international exchanges have responded to this development.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Apple, App Store, Binance, Kraken

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More