Indian Crypto Exchanges Shut Down Their Fiat Services As RBI Ban Becomes Active

After the RBI’s crypto banking ban has become active, crypto exchanges in India have been announcing to the public one after the other that they are shutting down their fiat deposits and withdrawals as banks begin closing their accounts. In the meantime, they are trying to educate the central bank in hopes of easing the ban.

This past Tuesday the 3rd of July, the Supreme Court of India heard a petition against the crypto banking ban which was passed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This petition was sent by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). On the 20th of this month, it will be heard including four other petitions. On April 6th, the RBI released a handbill banning all financial institutions under its control from providing services to crypto exchanges. This ban became active on the 5th of July 5, 2018. Without the stay of the Supreme Court, banks are likely to stop providing their services on July 5th per RBI’s order.

This past Wednesday, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Zebpay announced “Today we are disabling the rupee deposit and withdrawal options on the Zebpay app. This is being done in light of the bank account closures as per the RBI guideline… INR deposits and withdrawals have been paused in the Zebpay app until banks allow us again.” Zebpay alerted its users that rupee deposits and withdrawals may no longer be in service if its bank accounts are disrupted. However, Zebpay also stated that crypto deposits and withdrawals as well as “crypto-rupee and crypto pair trading” continue to be supported.

Another major Indian cryptocurrency exchange called Unocoin also published a statement after the Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday. The exchange restated that the court “has refused to hear the plea for interim relief” and that “the next hearing is set for the 20th of July.

During the IAMAI petition hearing this past Tuesday, the organization submitted “a representation to the RBI which was a detailed document explaining blockchain, cryptos and how they function.” The founder and CEO of Wazirx, Nischal Shetty made that statement. As stated by CNBC-Awaaz, the Supreme Court sent a notice to RBI during the hearing, asking the central bank to respond within 7 days. Mr. Shetty detailed “if the RBI gets a deep understanding of blockchain and crypto then they may go easy on the ban and think about regulations.”