Apple’s India App Store Drops Binance, KuCoin Following Government Notice

The Indian government recently issued compliance notices to several offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex. These notices, sent under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Finance Ministry, have led to significant actions by tech giant Apple.

Following these notices, Apple has removed the apps of Binance, KuCoin, and other mentioned exchanges from its App Store in India. This move indicates a swift response to the government’s actions. Interestingly, OKX, another notable offshore cryptocurrency exchange, was also removed from Apple’s India App Store, despite not receiving a show cause notice.

The government’s decision to issue these notices is part of its efforts to regulate entities operating in the cryptocurrency space. The FIU’s notices are intended to ensure these exchanges comply with India’s financial regulations.

While the government has initiated steps to block the URLs of these entities for operating illegally without compliance, the process is still in progress. According to a source familiar with the matter, extensive paperwork is required for this action, which is why these exchanges’ URLs remain accessible in India for now. The government is likely waiting for responses to the notices before proceeding with further actions.

Despite these developments with Apple’s App Store, the apps of these exchanges continue to be available on the Google PlayStore.