Cryptocurrency news India: Koinex said it aims to complete the entire process within the next five weeks Cryptocurrency exchange Koinex on Thursday announced its decision to shut down all of its digital assets exchange services and operations.
In a series of posts on microblogging site Twitter, Koinex said it would "permanently disable" its assets trading services on all platforms from 2:00 pm on June 27.
The announcement comes at a time many regulators and authorities have criticised and warned against the use of cryptocurrency.
In a blog post shared on Twitter, Koinex co-founder and CEO Rahul Raj said the decision followed "months of uncertainty and disruption".
Describing it as "a sad day for all digital assets and blockchain enthusiasts in India", he said: "We can't express in words how hard it's been for us to make this decision." Here are 10 things to know about Koinex and why the cryptocurrency exchange decided to shut shop:Set up in 2017, cryptocurrency exchange Koinex started its digital assets exchange services on August 25, 2017, according to Mr Raj's blog post.He described Koinex as the first open order-book, fully KYC (know your customer/client) compliant, multi-asset exchange.In his post, Mr Raj claimed that Koinex recorded $264 million worth of trading volume in the first four months of operations, making it the country's largest digital assets exchange.In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular instructing all regulated financial services entities to exit relationships with companies and individuals dealing in virtual currencies.
The central bank also instructed financial service providers to block all crypto-related transactions.The last 14 months have been tough to operate a digital assets trading business in the country on account of the closure of bank accounts holding user deposits, Mr Raj wrote."We took on immense financial burden to continue trading of digital assets and allow law-abiding Indians to participate in the decentralized revolution that has swept across the globe.""Multiple delays by the government agencies in clarifying the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies despite our pending writ petition in the Supreme Court of India, coupled with regular disruption in our operations, the final decision has been taken after duly considering all the latest developments in the crypto and blockchain industry in India," he added.Koinex said on Twitter that all open orders after the 2:00 pm deadline on Thursday will be automatically cancelled and funds will be returned to corresponding wallets.
"Users are requested to plan their trading activity carefully and close their trade positions," it said."Since the bank accounts with user funds are still frozen and the capital is held up, we have made arrangements for funds from our own resources, so that we return as much as we possibly can, back to our users and alleviate their position in reference to the funds held up in these frozen accounts," Mr Raj wrote.After the deadline, the cryptocurrency exchange said it would begin remitting the rupee balances to the subscribers' bank accounts.
Koinex said it aims to complete the entire process within the next five weeks.
The deadline for users to withdraw all their Koins is 9 pm on Monday, July 15, it added.
All Koin withdrawals will be processed within three working days "due to the high number of withdrawal requests", said Koinexin a communication on Twitter.Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on TheIndianSubcontinent.com.
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