Stringent Regulations Forces India’s Koinex To Shutdown

Cryptocurrency users in India have suffered in recent months as the government has imposed stringent regulations on the industry.

Indian cryptocurrency users will be disappointed to know that one of the country’s largest exchanges, Koinex has announced that it will soon be closing its operations. The company pointed out that this move was caused by the ongoing regulatory uncertainties in the country.

India has been cracking down on crypto assets for months now and it is severely impacted the company’s performance.

In a statement, Koinex said

The last 14 months have been tough to operate a digital assets trading business in India, on account of the closure of bank accounts holding user deposits. We took on immense financial burden to continue trading of digital assets and allow law-abiding Indians to participate in the decentralized revolution that has swept across the globe.

The exchange refers to the fact that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has banned banks from doing business with any crypto-related companies. This has disrupted local operations and damaged the revenue flow for many crypto businesses.

A consortium of Indian crypto businesses decided to challenge the ban in India’s highest court but the proceedings have been greatly delayed. The consortium points the multiple delays by the government agencies in clarifying the regulatory framework is the biggest disruption that the local crypto and blockchain industry in India has faced.

It also doesn’t help that there are rumors of even more stringent laws in the pipeline. There have been reports that the government has drafted a bill that banned all cryptocurrencies and had jail sentences attached to their use. 

Internal troubles

It was not just external problems that plagued Koinex. The service was also facing problems with its infrastructure. Reports of problems with its payment services and gateways have been doing the rounds. Additionally, the company had also faced trouble in purchasing new equipment and paying salaries to its employees.  

Koinex announced that it will end all crypto trading by June 27. All customers who want to withdraw their funds needed to have submitted a request by June 15.

This closure is not the first that the Indian crypto industry has faced this year. Two exchanges, Coindelta and Coinome, have also stopped crypto trading. The big difference between those two and Koinex is that Koinex has one of the largest trading volumes in India. In May, the company reported that it traded $4,400,000 worth of crypto currencies. With Koinex’s closure, there is a sizable hole in the Indian crypto industry.