What Crypto Exchanges Are Banned in India

India hasn’t banned cryptocurrency - but it has shut the door on dozens of international crypto exchanges that refused to play by its rules. If you’re trying to trade crypto in India right now, you’re not fighting a legal gray zone. You’re navigating a clear, strict, and rapidly evolving regulatory system built around one agency: the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).

What Actually Got Banned?

It’s not the coins. It’s not the tech. It’s the exchanges that didn’t register. As of early 2025, the Indian government blocked access to over 20 foreign crypto platforms that refused to comply with FIU-IND registration requirements. These aren’t small players - they’re giants like Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange that was blocked in India for failing to register with FIU-IND, despite having millions of Indian users, KuCoin, an offshore exchange that lost access to Indian banking channels and was blocked by ISPs after ignoring FIU-IND compliance deadlines, and Coinbase, a U.S.-based exchange that temporarily suspended INR deposits for Indian users until it began the registration process.

These platforms didn’t just get ignored - they were actively blocked. Indian ISPs stopped resolving their domain names. Banks cut off INR deposit routes. Payment processors like Razorpay and PayU refused to work with them. Users suddenly found their accounts frozen, withdrawals stalled, and apps no longer loading. There was no warning. No grace period. Just silence - and then a hard wall.

Why Did This Happen?

The root cause? FIU-IND registration, a mandatory requirement for any crypto exchange serving Indian users, designed to track transactions and prevent money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Since 2022, the government made it clear: if you want to serve Indian customers, you must register with FIU-IND, keep detailed records of every trade, and submit them on demand. No exceptions.

The February 1, 2025 amendment to Section 285BAA of the Finance Bill made it even stricter. Now, even if an exchange registers later, it must hand over all past transaction data - going back years. That’s a nightmare for offshore platforms that never tracked Indian user activity in a compliant format. Binance alone paid over $20 million in penalties in 2024 for failing to report Indian trades. KuCoin was fined $12 million. Many simply chose to walk away.

What’s Still Legal?

The good news? Crypto trading is still legal - if you use the right platform. The following exchanges are fully registered with FIU-IND and operate legally in India:

• CoinDCX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, with over 12 million users and full FIU-IND compliance since 2022
• WazirX, a Binance-owned Indian exchange that pivoted to full compliance after the 2023 crackdown, now handling 60% of all INR-to-crypto trades in India
• ZebPay, one of India’s oldest crypto platforms, re-registered in 2023 and now offers tax reports and KYC-compliant withdrawals
• Unocoin, a pioneer in Indian crypto, with FIU registration since 2022 and direct bank integrations with HDFC and ICICI
• Mudrex, a tech-focused platform that saw over 10,000 new users in three weeks after foreign exchanges were blocked
• CoinSwitch, a popular aggregator that now only routes trades through FIU-registered partners
• BuyUcoin, a smaller exchange that offered cash bonuses to users migrating from banned platforms

These platforms aren’t just legal - they’re the only ones that can legally provide tax reports, support INR withdrawals, and work with Indian banks. If you’re using anything else, you’re on your own.

What Happens If You Use a Banned Exchange?

Let’s say you still have funds on Binance or KuCoin. What can you do?

Nothing - legally. Indian authorities won’t help you recover funds from unregistered platforms. If your account gets frozen, there’s no customer support line that answers. No ombudsman. No dispute resolution. You’re outside India’s financial protection system.

And it gets worse. If you made profits on a banned exchange, you’re still required to pay taxes. The Indian Income Tax Department doesn’t care if the exchange is blocked - if you earned crypto gains, you owe 31.2% tax. But without a tax report from the exchange, you have to manually track every trade, every transfer, every fee. No automated CSV. No API. Just spreadsheets and guesswork.

Worse yet, if the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigates you - and they’re actively doing so - they can demand transaction history from your bank. If they find crypto purchases linked to a banned exchange, you could face penalties up to 60% of the undisclosed amount under Section 158BA(7) of the Income Tax Act.

Why Domestic Exchanges Won

When the bans hit, Indian users didn’t flee crypto - they just switched platforms. CoinDCX saw deposits surge over 2,000% in six months. WazirX added 3 million new users in 2024. Mudrex, which had under 50,000 users before the crackdown, hit 150,000 by mid-2025.

Why? Because these platforms built infrastructure for India. They integrated with UPI. They offer INR deposits via net banking. They generate tax reports in the format the IT department accepts. They have local customer support teams. They’re not trying to be global - they’re built for Indian users.

It’s not that they’re better. It’s that the banned ones were forced out. The market didn’t choose them. The law did.

What About Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)?

You might think: “I’ll just use Uniswap or PancakeSwap. No registration needed.” But here’s the catch - India doesn’t regulate DEXs directly. But it does regulate you.

If you use a DEX to buy Bitcoin with INR, and that INR came from a bank account, the government can still trace it. Your bank reports large transfers. Your wallet addresses can be flagged. If you don’t report gains, you’re still liable for tax penalties. DEXs don’t give you tax reports. They don’t help you comply. They just make it easier to hide - and that’s exactly what the government is cracking down on.

There’s no legal shield here. Just more risk.

The Bigger Picture

India isn’t trying to kill crypto. It’s trying to control it. The goal? To stop money laundering, ensure tax compliance, and protect retail investors from unregulated platforms. The result? A cleaner, more transparent market - but one where freedom comes with paperwork.

For traders, this means: if you want to trade crypto in India, you have two choices. Use a FIU-registered exchange and play by the rules. Or use a banned one and risk losing your money, your tax compliance, and possibly your future.

There’s no third option. The rules are clear. The stakes are high. And the government isn’t backing down.

What Should You Do Now?

If you’re trading crypto in India, here’s your action plan:

1. Check if your exchange is on the FIU-IND registered list. If not, move your funds.
2. Transfer your crypto to a compliant platform like CoinDCX or WazirX.
3. Download your transaction history and calculate your gains manually if needed.
4. File your crypto taxes by July 31, 2025 - no extensions, no excuses.
5. Never use a banned exchange for INR deposits or withdrawals.

India’s crypto rules aren’t going away. They’re getting stronger. The safest move isn’t to fight them - it’s to adapt to them.