Binance Joins India’s Financial Intelligence Unit To Bolster AML Compliance

The world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, is now registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND). This would be one major move for Binance, eyeing a fresh attempt at establishing operations in India.

The exchange had been banned from operating in the country for seven months due to non-compliance with local laws. With the new registration, Binance is eyeing a share of the fast-growing crypto market in the country.

Overcoming Regulatory Challenges

Binance had a difficult time with registration. Last month, for breaking India’s anti-money laundering regulations, the FIU-IND fined the stock exchange Rs 18.82 crore, which is around $2.25 million.

This is the largest penalty levied against any cryptocurrency company. In December 2023, the FIU issued a warning to Binance and other exchanges over non-compliance with local laws. Shortly after these warnings, the prohibition to trade via its website and mobile apps was enforced on Binance in January.

According to reports, Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, has said that recognizing the vitality and potential of the Indian VDA market, this alignment with Indian regulations allows the exchange to tailor its services for Indian users.

The Indian Crypto Landscape

India has turned out to be one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in the world. Based on Chainalysis’s 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index, India ranks among the top five nations worldwide with projected transaction volume across all cryptocurrency platforms.

Notwithstanding this progress, the registration could be the forerunner in setting a way ahead for other exchanges to enlist. A few global crypto platforms, including KuCoin and Kraken, have also been under probe in India.

KuCoin has recently paid the fine for its past non-compliances, while others, such as Bitstamp and OKX, have simply stopped their operations in the country. Binance’s registration may spur these exchanges to comply.

Binance: Future Prospects And Compliance

As soon as the registration process is complete, Binance will restart its Indian operations. Much focused on compliance, it will tighten up its AML processes and fast-track KYC. This step would mean that, while remaining compliant with the regulations of the land, there is a secure user trading environment.

The operation of Binance in India is of essence, if not of utmost importance, since the country itself is very proactive in charting its way to explore the potentials of virtual digital assets. That might hugely affect the legality act of this exchange on the growth of the crypto market in India, opening a wide variety of services and tools for users to answer users’ needs.

Featured image from www.bridgeindia.org.uk, chart from TradingView