If you are a crypto trader in India, you must have heard of the term FIU-IND or heard about the exchanges seeking FIU compliance. But have you ever wondered what it means? As India is tightening its grip on crypto regulations, the Financial Intelligence Unit is emerging as a key watchdog. You need to understand the role of FIU in knowing if the crypto exchange follows legal practices or is safe. Understanding the role of FIU can give you clarity and confidence.
Here, you will get to know what FIU actually is, why it matters for the crypto exchanges, and how it impacts you as a crypto trader.
The Financial Intelligence Unit is a government-backed agency managed by the Ministry of Finance. Established in 2004, the FIU is responsible for collecting and analyzing data related to suspicious transactions. The main goal of FIU is to detect and prevent money laundering, financial fraud, and terror financing.
After crypto got classified under India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2023, FIU’s observations expanded to Virtual Digital Assets, which also include crypto exchanges.
Crypto has a reputation for being the Wild West of the financial world. Borderless, decentralized, and often anonymous, crypto is frequently misused for untraceable transactions and illegal trades. That is where FIU comes in as a sheriff.
FIU aims to do the following by regulating the crypto exchanges:
While you are using a crypto exchange in India, FIU ensures the following:
Any crypto exchange operating in India as a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider is required to do the following:
Registration is mandatory under the PMLA. The unregistered exchanges are considered non-compliant and illegal.
Crypto exchanges must verify all users’ identities using Aadhar, PAN, and other valid ID proofs.
These include unusual patterns, large volume trades, or anything that smells fishy.
These reports help the FIUs to track potential money laundering risks.
This includes regular audits, staff training, and software.
In simple words, FIU turns a crypto exchange into a financial gatekeeper. It ensures that every rupee is clean and traceable.
In simple words, a crypto exchange gets blocked if it is not FIU compliant. In early 2024, the Ministry of Finance issued notices to 9 major global crypto exchanges, including KuCoin, Binance, and Kraken. They were operating in India without FIU compliance. As a result, these exchanges were geo-blocked, and Indian users were stopped from accessing their services.
Thus, always ensure that you are trading on a FIU-registered crypto exchange like Mudrex.
You might be wondering if FIU is mainly for regulating crypto exchanges, and how it benefits you. Notably, FIU compliance is a big reward for crypto users in India. Here is why:
In short, FIU creates a safe and secure space as well as a stable environment for the crypto traders and their investments.
Here is a detailed overview of some major crypto exchanges in India that are FIU-IND registered.
Mudrex is an FIU-registered platform with a simple and user-friendly interface. Traders can trade on their favourite crypto with the Mudrex app. Its attractive features and clean interface make it simpler for traders to trade in crypto coins.
CoinDCX is also a popular crypto platform that is FIU-registered. This is also one of the oldest and trusted crypto exchanges in India, where traders can trade in crypto coins without any hassle.
CoinSwitch is another popular crypto exchange in India, which is officially registered under FIU-IND. Traders can access the user-friendly crypto exchange to buy and sell their favourite cryptocurrency securely.
ZebPay is the oldest, reliable, and one of the most trusted crypto exchanges in India that features an official FIU-IND registration. You can download the ZebPay app to trade on your favourite crypto coin.
These platforms not only follow Indian regulations but also provide a smooth, tax-compliant experience for users.
ALSO READ: What Makes a Crypto Exchange Legal in India?
FIU-IND plays a major role in the crypto exchanges in India and ensures that trading in India is safe, transparent, and legal. Regulating all the crypto exchanges puts them under one single compliance umbrella, which is traditional finance. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned investor, always select an FIU compliance platform.
It protects your funds and keeps you on the correct side of the law. This is where Mudrex stands tall in keeping all the promises of the traders. It is a trusted FIU-registered platform where your crypto journey is built on confidence and compliance. Mudrex also features a Telegram community that keeps you updated with the latest regulations and changes in the industry.
FIU-IND is the financial intelligence unit of India. It monitors all the financial transactions and prevents money laundering. It also requires the exchanges to follow AML laws.
FIU registration for the crypto exchanges is mandatory under India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It ensures that the crypto platforms follow anti-money laundering and KYC norms.
As of 2024, exchanges like KuCoin and Binance are geo-blocked in India due to the lack of a FIU registration. You can use FIU-registered platforms like Mudrex to be on the safer side.
Most of the FIU-registered exchanges clearly mention their compliance on the website. You can also check the official list from the Ministry of Finance to know about the FIU-registered exchanges.
Yes, Mudrex is fully FIU compliant and offers a secure platform for traders to invest in crypto.
