India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, or FIU-IND, said Tuesday it had issued compliance notices to 15 offshore cryptocurrency platforms under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, alleging that the firms continued to serve Indian users without registering with the government.
The step is FIU-IND’s second enforcement wave after action in 2023 against nine larger platforms including Binance, Kraken and KuCoin. This time, the focus has shifted to smaller and mid-sized operators.
The 15 platforms named by FIU-IND
In its official notice, FIU-IND identified the following 15 virtual asset service providers, or VASPs:
- Weex
- Blofin
- Rezorex
- Bitunix
- DigiFinex
- Toobit
- XT.com
- Latoken
- WOO X
- Pionex
- ChangeNow
- SimpleSwap
- Fixedfloat
- WhiteBIT
- Guardarian
The list spans centralized exchanges, decentralized exchange aggregators and crypto conversion services. ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat and Guardarian operate as instant swap services, while platforms such as Weex, Blofin and Bitunix are known for crypto futures and leveraged trading.
Serving Indian users triggers registration requirements
India brought crypto platforms under the same anti-money laundering framework as banks in March 2023. Under that regime, any crypto platform serving Indian users must register with FIU-IND, whether or not it maintains a physical office in the country.
Once registered, platforms must carry out know-your-customer checks, maintain full transaction records and report suspicious transactions to the government.
The message from the latest action is straightforward: jurisdiction is not determined only by physical presence. If a platform takes Indian users, it is expected to comply with India’s AML rules.
Gift-card conversion route drew attention before the notices
Days before FIU-IND announced the action, The Economic Times reported that Indian users had been relying on a workaround that involved moving stablecoins such as USDT to platforms in Sweden, Germany and Singapore, converting them into gift cards, and then using those cards in India to buy groceries, fuel and gold.
That route bypasses domestic Indian exchanges and, according to the article, leaves a major blind spot for authorities tracking fund flows. The report argued that the 15 smaller platforms targeted by FIU-IND sit at key points in that gift-card conversion chain.
The first enforcement round hit nine major exchanges in 2023
This is not the first time FIU-IND has gone after offshore crypto businesses. In December 2023, the agency, citing a notice from India’s Press Information Bureau, issued compliance notices to nine large offshore exchanges including Binance, Kraken and KuCoin, and asked the Ministry of Information Technology to block their websites in India.
Binance later chose to register and paid a record fine of 1.882 billion Indian rupees, or about $2.26 million, becoming the first offshore exchange to formally comply in India. The status of Kraken and KuCoin was described in the source article as less clear.
Compared with the earlier move, the current action against 15 smaller platforms shows FIU-IND extending enforcement from major exchanges to a broader long tail of trading and swap venues.
FIU warns crypto products and NFTs remain unregulated
Alongside the notices, FIU-IND issued a direct public warning:
“The public is advised to be aware that crypto products and NFTs are currently unregulated and carry high risks. Any losses arising from dealings with these exchanges may not have any regulatory redress.”
The source article said India’s position on crypto remains one of neither prohibition nor protection.
What the latest move indicates
The article pointed to several signals from the new enforcement action.
First, the regulatory net is widening. In 2023, FIU-IND focused on large names such as Binance and Kraken. This round reaches 15 smaller and mid-sized platforms, suggesting that firms previously seen as too small to attract attention are now firmly on the regulator’s radar.
Second, gift-card related channels appear to be a priority. The presence of platforms such as ChangeNow, SimpleSwap and Fixedfloat suggests that FIU is paying close attention to the route that turns stablecoins into offline consumer spending. The article said Indian users of such services could face account restrictions or service disruptions.
Third, compliance costs for operating in India are rising. Using Binance as the example, the article said registration plus fines now function as a real entry cost for the market. For smaller platforms, that cost may exceed the commercial upside of serving India, and some may opt to leave.
The article added that India has a population of more than 1.4 billion and an estimated crypto user base above 10 million, making it Asia’s second-largest crypto market. In that context, FIU-IND’s latest move shows India pressing ahead with AML enforcement across the sector, regardless of platform size.