Binance Joins Indian Internet Association Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

Published at: June 18, 2020

Leading cryptocurrency trading platform Binance has joined the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI) digital asset exchange committee.

The association is the top trade body representing digital firms in India and was a key voice petitioning lawmakers about the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ban on financial institutions providing banking services to companies operating with crypto. The ban was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Binance’s membership comes at an opportune time, with India’s Ministry of Finance moving forward with a proposal for a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies roughly one week ago.

Binance expands influence in India

Binance announced its IAMAI membership on June 18, stating that it will work to implement global best practices in an effort to drive the development of India’s crypto and blockchain industries.

“Binance is honored and excited to join IAMAI and contribute our part in shaping the Indian blockchain industry for sustainable growth and development,” said Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). 

“We hope to further accelerate the progress of blockchain adoption in India and are committed to working with IAMAI on an innovation-led and progressive framework for digital assets and blockchain.”

The collaboration will see Binance launch its ‘Blockchain for India Fund’ to support innovation in India’s distributed ledger technology sector (DLT), in addition to working with regulators to guide the development of a sustainable framework for crypto assets in India.

IAMAI Vice President Gaurav Chopra, welcomed Binance to the association, stating:

“Given their hands-on experience of regulatory compliance in various countries, we are excited to work with Binance and other industry players in developing a constructive policy framework for crypto assets in India.”

India’s crypto sector in crisis

Despite the crypto ban being stuck down in March of this year, India’s nascent crypto industry is still facing significant challenges, including reports of banks continuing to exclude firms from accessing financial services, calls from virtual currency exchanges for clarity regarding Goods and Services Tax obligations, and the renewed threat of regulatory prohibition.

Tags
Regulation
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Binance
India
Related Posts
Women from small cities contribute to 65% of crypto sign ups in India
India’s regulatory uncertainties have not affected the investor’s sentiment toward crypto as the latest data from crypto exchanges suggests a rising influx of users. Binance-owned Indian crypto exchange WazirX reported 2,648% growth to date in user signups from smaller cities across India, also known as tier-II and tier-III cities, which can host up to 100,000 citizens. The Mumbai-based exchange reported: “Tier-II and tier-III cities have driven almost 55% of total user signups on WazirX in 2021.” The data also highlighted a rise in the number of female investors and enthusiasts across the country. Out of all the signups attributed to …
Regulation / Aug. 11, 2021
Indian taxman recovers $6.62M from WazirX for evading tax on commission
Indian crypto exchange WazirX has reportedly paid over $6.62 million (49.2 crore rupees) following non-payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on trade commissions. The total recovery includes the pending tax of $5.43 million (40.5 crore rupees), the interest and a penalty for non-payment. Government officials from the Central GST and Central Excise committee (CGST Mumbai Zone) recovered the funds from the crypto exchange after detecting a GST evasion of $5.43 million on the commissions. A typical GST fraud involves creating fake invoices without actually moving the goods between the seller and the buyer. Officers of CGST Mumbai East comm'te …
Blockchain / Jan. 1, 2022
Barclays tells cardholders it’s stopping payments to Binance
Customers have been reporting that Barclays, a British multinational universal bank, has been blocking payments to Binance cryptocurrency exchange over the last week. The financial services giant has confirmed to cardholders that Barclays debit/credit card payments to the cryptocurrency exchange will not be allowed until further notice. One of crypto investment dashboard Wealth Kode’s co-founders, who goes by Lee on Twitter, posted a text notification from Barclays Monday that read: “As you’ve made a payment to Binance this year, we wanted to let you know that we’re stopping payments made by credit/debit card to them until further notice. This is …
Regulation / July 5, 2021
India’s crypto unicorn CoinDCX has no immediate plans for IPO
India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, CoinDCX, has no immediate plans for a public listing as the regulatory environment in the country remains uncertain. CoinDCX has no definitive route or clause as to when to go ahead with a potential initial public offering (IPO), the firm told Cointelegraph in an official statement on Nov. 29. “Any growing company aspires to take an IPO route in due course. We at CoinDCX also have similar aspirations. We would like to reiterate that there is no immediate plan in the foreseeable future to announce an IPO,” a spokesperson said. The latest announcement adds to the …
Bitcoin / Nov. 29, 2021
$2.5T crypto market will not wait for nations to onboard: WazirX CEO
Indian entrepreneur and the CEO of crypto exchange WazirX Nischal Shetty envisions a race between countries to launch their local versions of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the coming year. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Shetty said that the year 2022 would be an extension of the ongoing discussions around crypto regulations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the emergence of the metaverse: “We’re optimistic that we’ll get regulatory clarity, see institutional participation fuel retail adoption. We also expect to see more metaverse projects making an entrance.” Shetty pointed out that the crypto industry today — directly or indirectly — employs about 50,000 …
Adoption / Dec. 29, 2021