New Delhi: Google on Saturday pulled a number of crypto apps, including Binance and Kraken, from its Play store in India. The ban comes just two weeks after these global crypto apps were flagged for operating ‘illegally’ in the South Asian market. Indian government agency Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), responsible for scrutinising financial transactions, late last month issued show cause notices to nine crypto firms and accused them of being non-compliant with India’s anti-money laundering rules.
Apple earlier in the week pulled the apps. Various telecom networks and internet service providers started blocking the URLs of the crypto exchange websites on Thursday evening.
FIU asked the IT Ministry to block the websites of all nine services in India. Apart from Binance and Kraken, other exchanges whose apps have been pulled are Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex, and Bitfinex.
Prior to the implementation of this ban, Binance earlier on Saturday said, “We are aware of an IP block affecting a number of crypto firms, including Binance. This only impacts users who attempt to access the Indian iOS app store or the Binance website from India. Existing users who already have the Binance app are not affected. We remain committed to the adherence of local regulations and laws and we are dedicated to maintaining active communication with regulators to ensure user protection and the development of a healthy Web3 industry.”
