Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has registered with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) after the region banned the platform and over nine others in December 2023. Rival crypto exchange KuCoin has also registered with the FIU paying a fine of $41,000. KuCoin was also among the list of platform banned by the Indian government in December last year.
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The development marks the first time offshore crypto entities have been approved by India’s anti-money laundering unit. While KuCoin paid $41,000 in fines, it still unclear the amount paid by Binance.
When will Binance resume operations in India?
While the exchange has obtained a registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit, it has yet to receive a verdict from its ongoing hearing. Furthermore, the world’s largest exchange will likely face a hefty fine before resuming its services in the nation.
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According to a statement, ‘Binance is registered but the compliance proceedings are not completed. Furthermore, ‘the amount of penalty has to be decided by me and that hearing is still going on.‘
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Binance, KuCoin and several other prominent crypto platform were sent notices by the Financial Intelligence Unit last year. According to authorities, the entities did not follow anti-money laundering laws. The FIU had stated, ‘several offshore entities though catering to a substantial part of Indian users were not getting registered and coming under the Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework.‘
Nonetheless, Binance reentering the Indian market would be a positive development for the company. India is one of the biggest crypto markets in the world, with one of the largest number of crypto users.