Apple removes crypto exchange apps Binance, Kucoin, OKX from App Store amid Indian regulatory pressure

Apple removed Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, from its App Store in response to a show-cause notice from the Finance Ministry due to non-compliance with India’s money laundering laws, according to Economic Times.

According to reports, nine offshore virtual digital assets (VDA) service providers, including Binance, received notices from the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Finance Ministry for operating in the nation without following anti-money laundering regulations.

As per the report from the publication, the Finance Ministry earlier urged the IT Ministry to restrict the URLs of these cryptocurrency firms, citing their unauthorized operations in the nation.

The report further states that along with Binance, other applications like OKX and Kucoin have also been taken down from the App Store. Binance is now being investigated in the United States for violating anti-money laundering laws.

In 2023, the Indian government implemented anti-money laundering laws for the cryptocurrency industry, hinting at increased scrutiny of digital assets in line with global efforts This decision came after a major setback in 2022, when authorities imposed transaction taxes on local cryptocurrency exchanges, resulting in a dramatic drop in trading volumes.

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