India’s Largest Crypto Exchange Succumbs to Harsh Crypto Regulations

In April 2018, the central bank of India banned all financial institutions from dealing with companies and individuals doing business in cryptocurrencies. This was a major hindrance for those companies working in the crypto industry. Zebpay moving its headquarters from India to Malta in 2018 was the earliest sign of the adverse effect of the banking ban imposed in India. Koinex is the fourth exchange — after Zebpay, Coindelta, and Coinome — to have fallen to the severe crypto regulations in India.

Putting an End to the Battle

In his blog, the Koinex CEO Rahul Raj wrote that the Supreme Court of India has had to continuously postpone the date of the final hearing on crypto regulation due to the unclear stance of the Indian government pertaining to cryptocurrencies. Hinting towards the struggle that the team had faced to make ends meet for the Koinex exchange in the past 14 months, Raj said that they’ve been denied payment gateway services, had their accounts closed, and had their transactions blocked. After swimming against the stream for such a long time and not finding any changes coming through, they have finally given up.

The Future of Cryptocurrencies in India

There’s hardly anything that can be said about what awaits cryptocurrencies in the Indian subcontinent. There are still a few cryptocurrency exchanges registered in India that are delivering peer-to-peer solutions so as to help traders ride the crypto wave. Some Indian companies working in the crypto industry also have their headquarters registered in other countries with supportive crypto regulations, such as Singapore and Malta. It is quite uncertain as to how long will these firms survive without proper support from financial institutions and government authorities of India. With hardly any changes brought through the past few court hearings, there’s little that the Indian crypto community hopes from the upcoming crypto regulation hearing scheduled on July 23. Will India place a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in the near future? What do you expect from the upcoming court hearing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.