India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has revealed that 49 cryptocurrency exchanges completed registration under the country’s anti-money laundering framework for the fiscal year 2024-25.
This development represents a significant step in strengthening regulatory oversight of the country’s expanding digital asset sector.
India’s FIU Says 49 Crypto Firms Now Meet AML Standards for FY24–25
According to the FIU’s latest annual report, most of the registered platforms are domestic, with 45 exchanges operating within India. The remaining four are offshore platforms registered with the FIU as reporting entities. This enables them to continue serving Indian users under the country’s compliance framework.
In India, cryptocurrencies are legally classified as Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs). Furthermore, the framework designates platforms facilitating their trading as VDA Service Providers (VDA SPs).
In 2023, the regulators formally brought these entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As reporting entities, the FIU requires VDA SPs to submit Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs).
Their obligations also include identifying and reporting beneficial ownership of wallets, monitoring fundraising activities such as initial coin offerings or token offerings, and tracking transfers between hosted and unhosted wallets.
In the report, the FIU stated that its strategic analysis of STRs highlighted persistent risks across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. While acknowledging the sector’s potential for financial innovation and wealth creation, the agency warned that digital assets were exploited for serious criminal activity. Identified red flags included the use of crypto for hawala operations, illegal gambling, and complex fraud schemes.
“However, VDAs, VDA SPs have certain potential money laundering and terror financing risks, owing to their global reach, capacity for rapid settlement, ability to enable peer-to-peer transactions, and potential for increased anonymity and obfuscation of transaction flows and counterparties,” the report read.
The report also revealed that the FIU imposed total penalties of ₹28 crore (approximately $3.1 million) during the 2024–25 fiscal year on crypto exchanges found to be non-compliant. In October, the regulator also sent notices to 25 crypto exchanges, including BingX, LBank, CoinW, CEX.IO, and Poloniex, for failing to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering rules.
While the crackdown continues, several major global exchanges have resumed operations in the Indian market. Bybit returned to the country after completing local registration requirements and paying a $1 million penalty.
Binance also made its way back into India in 2024 following the payment of a $2.2 million fine. In December, Coinbase resumed user onboarding with plans to introduce a fiat on-ramp in 2026.
Parallel to exchange oversight, authorities have intensified efforts against crypto-related fraud. Recent enforcement actions have dismantled several scams, including a decade-long operation that defrauded investors through Ponzi schemes promising high returns.
