Binance, world’s biggest crypto currency exchange has been removed by Apple. Less than two weeks after the majority of these international companies were accused of conducting business “illegally” in India, Apple has removed the apps of at least nine crypto currency exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, from its App Store.

Nine crypto currency companies received show-cause notifications from the Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government agency that monitors financial transactions, on December 28. The notices claimed that the companies had violated anti-money laundering regulations in India.

The Android Google Play Store still has the apps available. But if the reason is the same, Google might drop the nine crypto currency apps from the Play Store in a similar move.

The Indian IT Ministry had been requested by the FBI to restrict the websites of all nine Indian services. The apps for Bittrex, Bitfinex, Huobi, Gate.io, and Bittrex have also been removed from exchanges. The OKX app had vanished, but Bitstamp, another problematic exchange that the FIU had identified, remained active on the Indian App Store.

Binance users evading Taxation?

In an apparent attempt to avoid paying taxes, a large number of Indian dealers have recently shifted to international crypto currency platforms. India started taxing virtual currencies last year. Gains are subject to a 30% tax, and each crypto currency transaction is subject to a 1% deduction.

While this hasn’t been the case for many international platforms, India-based crypto currency exchanges such as a16z-backed CoinSwitch Kuber, B Capital-backed CoinDCX, and erstwhile Binance partner WazirX, still demand stringent know-your-customer verifications prior to onboarding new users.

India’s consumer protection will benefit from this as well because the ecosystem would be subject to more regulatory supervision.

The government of New Delhi was earlier cautioned by the Indian crypto currency exchanges CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber that a new taxation policy on crypto currencies would force many users to go to decentralized exchanges or look for non-compliant services.

CoinDCX declared on Tuesday that users who move their crypto currency holdings from international exchanges to its platform in India will receive incentives.

What is the govts’ say on blockade of URLs including Binance?

India has always viewed crypto currencies and the businesses that facilitate their trading with contempt. About five years ago, the Reserve Bank of India banned crypto currencies from being used within the nation.

Even while the Indian Supreme Court ultimately overturned this restriction, the central bank has continued to push for the prohibition of crypto currencies ever since, and its top officials have compared virtual digital assets to Ponzi schemes.

Another well-known international crypto currency exchange, Coinbase, ceased accepting new users in India last year. In 2022, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, said that the Indian central bank was exerting “informal pressure” on the company.

The finance ministry released a statement stating that offshore and onshore virtual asset service providers operating in India that engage in the following activities must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India and abide by the rules of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002: exchanging virtual assets for fiat currencies, transferring and administering virtual assets, or using instruments to enable control over them.

As per the official Binance page, the Indian users cant access it through the app store, however, if Binance is already installed it will continue to work.