Binance users in India can now access the exchange’s website after being blocked in December 2023. The crypto exchange, touted as the largest in the world, has finally completed its registration with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and has also cleared the penalty of $2.25 million (roughly Rs. 18.8 crore) that was levied on it in June this year. The fine was levied as Binance did not adhere to India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). With this, Binance is now up and running in India’s web space.
For Binance, this registration in India marks its 19th global licence. Sweden, Kazakhstan, France, and Dubai are among other locations where the exchange holds operational permits.
Binance CEO Richard Teng said that the company realises the vitality and potential of India’s virtual digital assets (VDAs) market, commenting on its India registration.
“Our registration with the FIU-IND marks an important milestone in Binance’s journey. This alignment with Indian regulations allows us to tailor our services for Indian users. It is a privilege to extend the reach of our platform to this thriving market, supporting India’s continued VDA evolution,” Teng noted.
Binance’s registration with the FIU in India could have been completed in May. However, upon probe on the exchange, Indian authorities identified that Binance was not compliant with the PMLA laws, that are mandated for crypto firms to comply with in order to keep their operations running in the country.
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As part of the PMLA laws, crypto exchanges are required to have their users complete their KYCs and monitor trading activities. Upon identifying suspicious transactions, the PMLA requires exchanges to report their observations to the relevant authorities.
Now that Binance has cleared the fine for being non-compliant with India’s PMLA laws, its access has been completely restored for Indian users.
“Implementing these industry-leading frameworks in the Indian market can meaningfully contribute to the local context and elevate market standards for all crypto exchanges. Not only is this beneficial for the Indian VDA industry, but, most importantly, it ensures stronger protections for users,” the exchange noted.
Despite this development, Binance’s road ahead still has some bumps in India. The company, for instance, does not still have a physical presence in the country. In fact, Binance is scouting for locations where it could set up its headquarters.
In addition, Binance was recently served a notice for Rs. 772 crore (roughly $92 million) in GST charges. The Ahmedabad zonal unit of India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) issued this notice to the multi-national crypto exchange for levying a platform fee charge on Indian traders that reportedly reached the amount of at least Rs. 4,000 crore and was transferred to a foreign-based company.
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Binance’s response to this GST notice remains awaited.
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Apple recently announced that it will soon allow third party developers from countries in the European Union (EU) and select other regions to access the NFC technology on iPhone, on an upcoming beta build of iOS 18.1. This technology that supports contactless payments is currently restricted to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. This decision could prove to be a shot in the arm for crypto firms, and could pave the way for Web3 wallet services to offer tap-to-pay functionality.
Circle Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire urged wallet developers to work on support for Apple’s NFC payments technology, following the announcement by the iPhone maker earlier this week. Circle is the firm that issues the USDC stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. At the time of publishing this story, USDC’s market capitalisation stood at $34.6 billion (roughly Rs. 2,90,934 crore) and over 34 million tokens are currently in circulation.
“Tap to pay using USDC on iPhones incoming soon,” Allaire said on X. Crypto enthusiasts also responded to the Circle CEO’s post, with some predicting that this service could propel crypto-based payments on the iPhone.
In another post on X, Allaire said that with Apple expanding the access to the NFC feature to third party developers will enable them to support tap-to-pay transactions on Web3 wallet and crypto wallet apps.
“If an iOS wallet that supports USDC enables this, they could enable a UX (interface) where a receiving device could receive the transaction info via a tap. This would allow the Point-of-Sale to tell an iPhone what blockchain address it will accept USDC on, or the amount to pay, and then the iPhone-based wallet app could prompt the user to confirm a payment (like with FaceID) and initiate a transaction over the blockchain to settle the USDC,” Allaire said, adding that combining NFC with low-fee blockchains could elevate direct to merchant payments through crypto assets like USDC.
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Cryptos Consultancy CEO Ali Jamal called Apple’s decision to provide access to iPhone NFC functionality a game changing move via a post on LinkedIn.
🚀 Apple Joins the Crypto Revolution: Bringing USDC Payments for 1.4B iPhone Users! 💳📱 This move allows direct blockchain payments on iPhones for the first time ever. The “you can’t buy anything with crypto” criticism is officially over. Apple just got itself a seat! In a game-changing move, Apple has just opened its NFC chip to third-party apps with the release of iOS 18.1, setting the stage for a new era in crypto payments. Here’s why this is a watershed moment for the industry: “Tap-to-pay” on the iPhone will now support stablecoin USDC. Apple made the decision to open source its NFC chip to third-party developers. 🔹 Democratizing NFC Access: Previously restricted to Apple Wallet and Apple Pay, the NFC technology on iPhones can now be utilized by crypto wallet apps. This shift opens the door to a wider range of payment options, including USDC. 🔹 Mainstream USDC Integration: Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has announced that USDC, the leading dollar-backed stablecoin, will soon be available for tap-to-pay transactions. Imagine paying directly with USDC at any point-of-sale (PoS) terminal using your iPhone. 🔹 Broad Implications: This move extends beyond USDC. It facilitates payments with other stablecoins, NFTs, and more, leveraging high-performance blockchains like Solana and Avalanche for seamless, low-fee transactions. 📈 What’s Next? With Apple’s integration of NFC capabilities into the crypto space, we’re witnessing a significant leap toward global crypto adoption. This development is poised to make crypto payments as accessible as traditional methods. What do you think of Apple’s new role in the crypto landscape? Will this spark a broader shift in how we use digital assets? Share your thoughts if any below! 👇 #Apple#Crypto#Payments#USDC#DigitalAssets#Stablecoins#NFTs#Innovation#iOS18#Blockchain#TechNews#Dubai
“Apple has just opened its NFC chip to third-party apps with the release of iOS 18.1, setting the stage for a new era in crypto payments. It is a watershed moment for the industry. This move extends beyond USDC. It facilitates payments with other stablecoins, NFTs, and more, leveraging high-performance blockchains like Solana and Avalanche for seamless, low-fee transactions,” she said.
Jamal further noted that this development could make crypto payments as easily accessible and accepted as traditional payments.
Crypto Payments on Apple’s Platform
The iPhone maker, has time and again, faced criticism for its App Store policies that have been deemed as ‘unfair’ by crypto-related app makers. In November 2023, Apple customers filed a class-action lawsuit over the firm’s restriction of crypto payments and not expanding its array of peer-to-peer payment services beyond the Apple Pay ecosystem.
Earlier that year, two Bitcoin wallet providers, Zeus and Damus, also criticised the iPhone-maker for restricting their apps on Apple’s App Store, while a California appeals court previously told Apple that its policy of not allowing app developers to integrate third party payment methods with their services was ‘unlawful’.
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Apple is yet to clarify whether crypto-related apps will be allowed to access the NFC functionality on the iPhone with the upcoming iOS 18.1 beta, which will allow access to the NFC and SE APIs to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, while other regions will soon be added by the company.