Koinex is the latest cryptocurrency exchange to fall prey to India’s ban on virtual currencies. Months after delisting several cryptocurrencies, the exchange has shut down its trading services. The exchange has blamed uncertainty as well as disruptions for the unexpected decision.

Koinex Shutdown

In an official statement, Koinex says it has always wanted to provide blockchain enthusiasts a reliable way of digital trading assets. The government-instituting ban on cryptocurrencies, according to Koinex management, made it impossible to continue offering crypto trading services. The exchange has since given its customers until July 15 to withdraw all their digital assets from the exchange.

According to CEO Rahul Raj, they could no longer continue to operate in India given the immense financial burden because of stringent regulations. Immediate reports indicate that the government is planning to introduce a new bill that will ban cryptocurrencies completely and propose a jail term for anyone dealing in them.

“We have stayed away from disclosing details to the public in the larger interest of mindfully steering the industry towards positive regulations, but unfortunately we’re not too hopeful that things will change for the better in the near future,” said Mr. Raj.

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Cryptocurrency Ban in India

Koinex joins a string of other crypto exchanges that have had to close shop in recent months. In September of last year, Zebpay was forced to close down all its operations as the Reserve Bank of India passed a ban on virtual currencies. The exchange has since had to shift all its operations to Australia where cryptocurrencies are considered legal tenders.

If recent developments are anything to go by, then Unocoin could be the next crypto exchange to exit the Indian Market. Reports indicate that the exchange has laid off a significant amount of staff given the regulatory uncertainty that makes it impossible to operate a successful crypto business in the country.

The uncertainty in the Indian market is a stark contrast to developments in other mature economies. In the US, for instance, cryptocurrencies are slowly finding their way into the mainstream sector. Facebook and JPMorgan have both already launched cryptocurrencies.

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According to CoinTelegraph, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, Binance, is in “official” talks with Facebook regarding the latter’s new Libra coin.

The exchange’s strategy officer, Gin Chao, told BlockTV yesterday that the company is “very excited” about the Libra project.

What we know so far, according to Chao, is that the talks “have largely focused on dealing with infrastructure.”

Binance and Libra Coin

While the pair’s discussions are in the early stages, it seems Binance is not holding back its desire to work with Libra “as much as [it] can.”

Chao continued:

“I think the potential that libra can have, not just on mass adoption but what it means to payments and forcing regulators’ hands to catch up a bit, is all good news.”

In a separate interview, the strategist gave more details on the likelihood of Facebook’s Libra listing on Binance:

“It wouldn’t just be in [Facebook’s] interest to list their coin on our exchange. It would also be in their interest to list on other exchanges as well and that’s probably going to happen. So if they decide to go on a public chain, and they get the sort of adoption that they could get, we would probably want to list them.”

And further, he said that Binance would be enthusiastic about becoming a validator node on the Libra network.

Facebook’s Libra Coin

Facebook announced its new cryptocurrency called Libra last week. Rumors about its existence were rife for over a year, however.

According to the Whitepaper, the objective of the coin is simple; users can send money via the internet all over the world faster and with lower fees than standard banking. It also aims to incorporate the 1.7 billion people around the world who don’t have a bank account or a line of credit.

Libra differs in several ways to traditional cryptocurrencies. One of the most interesting facts of Facebook’s currency is that it is more “stable” than regular cryptos. Facebook sought to create a coin that could facilitate every-day online consumer transactions and has done this by “backing all its issued digital currency by a reserve.”

>> Koinex Exchange Shuts Down Trading Services in India

According to Digitaltrends:

“Founding Members are required to pool money into the reserve, with the prospect of a return on their investment via dividends from low-yield investment of the reserve’s assets.”

With Libra coin only announced, it’s official launch is not expected until sometime in the first half of 2020.

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