India’s changing stance on crypto attracts Binance’s focus
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India has gone a long way regarding crypto in the past five years or so. The country initially attempted to ban the crypto industry in 2019, only for it to have a major change in stance and sentiment by 2024, which attracted massive international focus.
Among those who are now paying close attention to the country and its crypto-related moves is Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume.
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Binance’s interest in the Indian market reawakens
The crypto industry saw significant advancements in crypto adoption and institutional involvement in 2024. Prices have seen major recoveries, and Bitcoin itself reached nearly $108k per coin. On top of that, there were major developments earlier this year, such as the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Looking at these changes, Binance’s head of regional markets, Vishal Sacheendran, stated that India is set to lead global crypto regulation by 2025. Despite its initial distaste for the crypto industry several years back, India in 2024 has seen major changes, which will continue in years to come.
Sacheendran also said that the country’s leadership in crypto could further enhance trust, and drive the growth of the entire industry.
Binance itself has been adapting to the regulatory changes in India, seeking to cement and expand its presence in the country. To do that, it must first ensure compliance, and the exchange’s head of regional markets stressed the importance of building a decentralized digital ecosystem, signaling a broader focus that goes beyond just trading digital assets.
India changed its stance toward crypto
India’s relationship with digital currencies started in 2019, when the country saw a draft bill that proposed a complete ban on cryptocurrencies. At the time, the proposal received a lot of attention, both in and out of the country, but it never reached the Parliament.
Still, India cemented a reputation of being unfriendly toward cryptocurrencies. With time, however, its stance started to change, and with each new year, it started reflecting global trends stronger and stronger.
The country’s Parliament recently saw a session where Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister, said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had recommended the creation of crypto-specific regulations, which is something that the US SEC has been refusing to do for over a decade now.
She also added that any ban on crypto in the future would require international cooperation, which significantly reduces the likelihood of something like that ever happening.
The country’s government did implement tax measures on virtual assets, however. As of April 11 of this year, any profits made from crypto trading, investing, and similar activities come with a 30% tax, followed by a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS), which started on July 1.
The policies have seemingly had a negative impact on trading activity on the local crypto exchanges, which have reported a reduction in trading.
India Blocks Binance
As for Binance itself, the exchange previously received a fine from the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit for violating the local AML regulations.
For the moment, it is still unknown when or if Binance will resume operation in India, although the exchange’s reawakened interest in the country might mean that it is only a matter of time before Binance makes its move.
This could be a challenge, however, since Binance is one of nine foreign crypto exchanges that the FIU blocked this month. The organization also ordered Google and Apple to remove the blocked exchanges from their app stores in India. The current laws have obligated the exchanges to register with the FIU as reporting entities, and comply with the AML rules, as well as withhold taxes on crypto transactions and profits.
