Značka: WazirX

Binance sides with Indian regulators in WazirX fallout to cease support for off-chain transfers

As reported by local news outlet The Economic Times on Monday, Binance is scheduled to remove off-chain fund transfers with Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX on Thursday, although users will still be able to deposit and withdraw balances via the standard withdrawal and deposit process between the two exchanges.Three days prior, The Directorate of Enforcement of India alleged that WazirX “actively assisted around 16 accused fintech companies in laundering the proceeds of crime using the crypto route” and subsequently froze $8.1 million in bank balances related to the exchange. Simultaneously, there is an ongoing controversy regarding whether Binance owns the exchange. Last Friday, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, said that Binance does not own any equity in WazirX’s parent entity Zanmai Labs, and further clarified that a supposed Nov. 21, 2019, acquisition of WazirX by Binance was never completed. However, in a tweet dated April 5, 2021, Zhao reposted the following statement from The Financial Express: “Binance-owned Indian crypto exchange WazirX crosses $200 million in daily trading volume; eyes $1 billion in 2021.”In a similar post, Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, claimed that WazirX was acquired by Binance, with the latter involved in operations such as crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, processing crypto withdrawals, and the like. Furthermore, Shetty alleged that Binance owned the WazirX domain name, had root access to its servers, and controlled all of WazirX’s crypto assets and trading profits. Binance’s CEO CZ has adamantly denied such claims, stating: “Binance only provides wallet services for WazirX as a tech solution. There is also integration using off-chain tx to save on network fees. WazirX is responsible for all other aspects of the WazirX exchange, including user sign-up, KYC, trading and initiating withdrawals.WazirX has been embroiled in a number of controversies as of late. Last year, India’s Enforcement Directorate was already investigating the exchange due to allegations of Anti-Money Laundering failings. Earlier this year, government officials from the Central GST and Central Excise committee recovered $6.62 million worth of funds from the exchange after detecting GST evasion on trade commissions.

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Indian authorities freeze $8.1M in WazirX funds as part of AML investigation

India’s Directorate of Enforcement, or ED, has announced it froze roughly $8.1 million in funds and conducted a search connected to cryptocurrency exchange WazirX as part of an investigation into instant personal loan fraud.In a Friday announcement, the Directorate of Enforcement alleged WazirX facilitated transactions by unnamed fintech firms “to purchase crypto assets and then launder them abroad” as part of a scheme involving Chinese-backed companies circumventing India’s licensing regulations. In its investigation, the ED said it ordered WazirX bank accounts containing 646.7 million Indian rupees — roughly $8.1 million at the time of publication — frozen and conducted a search connected to co-founder Sameer Mhatre.According to the regulator, the investigation was still ongoing. However, the ED claimed the crypto exchange had “lax KYC norms” and “loose regulatory control” of transactions between WazirX and Binance, and did not record the information needed to verify the origin of the funds used to purchase crypto in the alleged fraud. “Despite giving repeated opportunities, WazirX failed to give the crypto transactions of the suspect fintech APP companies and reveal the KYC of the wallets,” said the ED, adding:“WazirX is not able to give any account for the missing crypto assets. It has made no efforts to trace these crypto assets. By encouraging obscurity and having lax AML norms, it has actively assisted around 16 accused fintech companies in laundering the proceeds of crime using the crypto route.”ED searches the Director of WazirX Crypto-Currency Exchange & freezes its Bank assets worth Rs 64.67 Crore for assisting accused Instant Loan APP Companies in laundering of fraud money via purchase & transfer of virtual crypto assets.— ED (@dir_ed) August 5, 2022In a Friday Twitter thread, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the firm did “not own any equity in Zanmai Labs, the entity operating WazirX and established by the original founders.” He added that “Binance only provides wallet services for WazirX as a tech solution,” while WazirX was responsible for KYC and other operations on the exchange. Related: Indian regulator probes crypto exchange for alleged forex law violationsWith the exodus of many crypto firms in China following a regulatory crackdown, many companies have reportedly turned to the markets in India. The ED reported that some fintech firms “backed by Chinese funds” had “piggybacked” on Indian companies with defunct non-banking financial company licenses to offer lending services to residents.The ED took similar action against WazirX in June 2021, ordering the crypto exchange to show cause related to transactions of a money-laundering investigation into illegal online betting applications involving Chinese nationals. WazirX director Nischal Shetty said at the time that the exchange went “beyond [its] legal obligations by following Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) processes and have always provided information to law enforcement authorities whenever required.”Cointelegraph reached out to WazirX, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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Indian crypto trading volumes slump following hefty taxes

Trading volume on three major Indian crypto exchanges plummeted 72.5% on average since July 1, when a 1% tax per transaction was enforced in the country.The Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) came into effect on July 1 and appears to have negatively affected traders as exchange volumes dropped from 37.4% on BitBNS and 90.9% on CoinDCX by July 3. Volumes have stabilized slightly since hitting lows but are still down 56.8% on average, according to CoinGecko.Indian YouTube channel Crypto India tweeted on July 4 that exchange revenues, based on a 0.1% trading fee, are abysmal due to the low volume levels. At the trough of volume levels, WazirX, CoinDCX, and Zebpay took in a combined $21,649 per day.Indian Crypto exchange’s trading volume have plunged by 90-95% , 3 months after new crypto laws became applicable. Based on current volumes – Exchanges are only able to generate trading fee revenue of $1000 to $3000 Max.Bitbns seems to be still doing well.Tough times ahead. pic.twitter.com/KNDbea9BCn— Crypto India (@CryptooIndia) July 4, 2022For now, crypto traders like Mumbai’s Shounak Shetty are also hurting. Shetty told Economic Times on July 4 that he believes the TDS and the 30% income tax on cryptocurrency trades in India will be detrimental to the talent base in the South Asian nation. He said, “Like other traders, I am trying to figure out if it’s possible to stay profitable on Indian exchanges. This will lead to another brain drain of professional traders to other countries like Dubai that are more welcoming.”WazirX’s Policy Analyst Anuj Chaudhary explained in the June 30 episode of The WazirX Show on YouTube that the 1% TDS is levied on “digital assets whether it’s NFT, crypto assets, metaverse, or any sort of transactions happening on top of public blockchains.” The tax will be in effect for three months as a test to determine the impact it has on the market. While trading volumes are low now, policymakers want to see its results for a longer timeframe.Only gift cards used to obtain goods or get a discount, mileage points, reward points, and loyalty incentives without monetary considerations, and subscriptions to websites, platforms, or applications are exempt from the tax.Related: Reserve Bank of India ranks crypto near the bottom of systemic risks despite harsh criticismChaudhary’s counterpart on the show, Muthuswamy Iyer, Head of Legal at WazirX, accurately predicted that the TDS would negatively impact the high volume, high-value traders on Indian platforms. He added that he believes the TDS would also dissuade newcomers and low-frequency traders from gaining crypto exposure.The average daily transaction volume between WazirX, Zebpay, BitBNS, and CoinDCX in June was about $9.6 million per day, but that has fallen to about $5.6 million as of July 4.

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Why did WazirX token WRX jump 30% after India announced its big crypto tax?

WazirX exchange’s native token WRX benefited the most from India’s latest u-turn on crypto this week.WRX price jumps on India tax newsWRX price surged nearly 30% to over $1, hitting a three-week high after the Indian government announced a new tax regime for the regional crypto sector, reversing entirely from its earlier strict stance that even contemplated an outright ban on the emerging industry.$WRX – Up on news! https://t.co/Ln504eUZzm pic.twitter.com/zN3pW84DPY— Yo! Crypto ₿ (@YoCrypto) February 1, 2022In her budget speech on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that they plan to tax the income from trading cryptocurrencies at 30%, which while among the highest rates in the world, also means that digital assets are officially recognized in India.WRX price jumped after Sitharaman’s speech, probably due to its association with an India-based crypto exchange, WazirX. The WRX token serves as a utility token on the platform, benefitting users with trading fee discounts and access to new token airdrops. Another 250% rally ahead?Utility tokens typically derive their value from speculations that their adoption would grow in tandem with the growth of their platform, one that is no longer in regulatory limbo. Javon Marks, an independent market analyst, predicted further price booms in the WRX market, noting that the WazirX token could climb toward $3.80 from its current $1-levels. At the core of his bullish analogy was a technical setup, as shown in the attached chart.WRX/USD three-day price chart. Source: Javon Marks, TradingViewIn detail, WRX’s ongoing price boom had its price break above a multi-month downward sloping resistance trendline. Marks noted that the breakout “technically” positions the WazirX token to rise by another 252% in the coming sessions to its April 2021 resistance targets.”As long as WazirX holds this break, this target will remain pushable,” the analyst tweeted Wednesday.The statement also surfaced as the crypto market, on the whole, remained in a state of turmoil after a depressive January performance. WRX itself dropped more than 30% into the month, mirroring similar moves across the top-ranking crypto-assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), which tanked nearly 18% in the same period.The interim pullback scenarioWazirX’s day-to-day correlation with broader crypto market trends, however, puts WRX at risk of bearish continuation. It is primarily because the catalysts that played a key role in pushing the digital assets lower in January 2022 — the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn — remain intact.Related: Bitcoin ‘gives back gains’ after Fed comments ‘add downside risks’ to crypto marketsAdditionally, the WRX price faces a technical resistance confluence that may limit its recovery bias in the sessions ahead. Specifically, a combination of price ceilings, including a descending triangle’s upper trendline, have already been capping the WazirX token’s upside attempts.WRX/USD daily price chart featuring descending triangle setup. Source: TradingViewOther resistance levels include a 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) and a 200-day EMA (the blue wave). A pullback upon testing them risks dropping the WRX price to the descending triangle’s lower trendline near $0.75.The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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$2.5T crypto market will not wait for nations to onboard: WazirX CEO

Indian entrepreneur and the CEO of crypto exchange WazirX Nischal Shetty envisions a race between countries to launch their local versions of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the coming year. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Shetty said that the year 2022 would be an extension of the ongoing discussions around crypto regulations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the emergence of the metaverse:“We’re optimistic that we’ll get regulatory clarity, see institutional participation fuel retail adoption. We also expect to see more metaverse projects making an entrance.”Shetty pointed out that the crypto industry today — directly or indirectly — employs about 50,000 people in India, which according to NASSCOM research, is expected to grow 2X faster with the potential to create over 800,000 jobs by 2030. Acknowledging the delays in crypto regulations across the globe, Shetty told The Economic Times that an overnight regulation might harm the progress of the ecosystem and leave open loopholes for bad actors:“There is a $2.5 trillion market out there and it is not going to wait for any nation to come on board. I’ve been tweeting ‘#IndiaWantsCrypto’ for over 1,000 days with the sole objective of having crypto regulation in India.”Day 1000What a milestone for Indian Crypto!With #IndiaWantsCrypto my mission has been:- Bring positive crypto regulation in India- Spread right information about CryptoLakhs of people have joined this campaignLet’s continue our missionJai Hind #IndiaWantsCrypto— Nischal (WazirX) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) July 28, 2021Discussions around crypto were prevalent in India this year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited the need for crypto regulations. In addition, the winter season of the Indian Parliament introduced a crypto bill that sought a ban on ‘private’ cryptocurrencies. “The question for every nation is ‘do they want to participate and get a share of this pie?’,” asked Shetty. He also predicted that global participation in crypto would go from 150 million to 400 million people if the coming year follows a similar growth trajectory of 2021.Shetty highlighted that the nonfungible token (NFT) buying spree might slow down in 2022 as investors attempt reselling through secondary markets, adding: “Web3 will open the gates to innovation and more startups in India. Along with the rise in NFTs, it will play a huge role in promoting the creator economy of India.”Crypto exchange WazirX led numerous marketing efforts to educate Indian investors about cryptocurrencies and launch transparency reports and policies to add credibility to the ecosystem. Shetty believes that spreading the right information and busting misinformation will expedite crypto adoption in India, concluding:“Cointelegraph is doing a phenomenal job at spreading education and awareness around crypto among the masses. I wish all the readers a very happy, crypto-full new year ahead!”Related: India to regulate, not ban, crypto: Cabinet documentsLocal reports from early December suggested that the Indian government would regulate the crypto sector instead of imposing an outright ban. According to Indian news outlet NDTV, a cabinet note regarding the proposed crypto bill contained suggestions to regulate cryptocurrencies as crypto assets, with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) overseeing the regulation of local crypto exchanges.However, NDTV reported Sunil Prabhu said that the government of India will not consider mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies as legal tender:“[Cryptocurrency] as a legal tender will not be accepted. That is a clear no. I think that that is what even the prime minister in his deliberations at that meeting made absolutely clear to ensure that does not take place.”

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