Currently, India does not have a supportive climate for the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with all the regulatory strictness. Under the said circumstances, Coindelta an India-based cryptocurrency exchange terminates its services for crypto businesses in the country.
In an official blog post on March 30, the exchange announced the development. Just eighteen months after its first launch, Coindelta is bidding farewell owing to the severe restrictions on banking services for crypto-related firms in India. The said restrictions have escalated the operating costs and thus it is not economically viable to continue operations. The post notes:
“It has been really difficult for us to operate Coindelta exchange for the last 6 months. The curb on the bank accounts by RBI has made us handicapped in order to provide seamless deposit and withdrawal services. There has not been any significant progress in the Supreme Court case which makes it difficult to predict when we will see the regulation.”
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) exercised a ban on Indian banks in April 2018, under which all domestic banks are prohibited from providing services to crypto-related businesses. The legal scenario has pushed the banks to even target individuals for bank account closures, as some institutions have apparently widely extrapolated the crypto banking ban to single traders.
Coindelta added in its announcement that all crypto trading markets on its platforms were suspended at 2:00 pm (time zone unknown) on March 30. Any outstanding orders at that time were reportedly canceled and user funds returned to their wallets. The exchange states that it will continue its wallet services until April 29, 2019, after users are requested to make withdrawals via its support page or email.
The statement outlines that Coindelta is charging a fixed fee for all withdrawals, to which multiple users have argued on Twitter alleging that the fee is excessively high, making the withdrawal of small amounts of crypto deposits untenable.
@coindelta_ plz waive off the withdrawal fees for soe cryptos. its too much high.
— UK Singh (@Bindass_Utpal) March 30, 2019
I use to love CoinDelta but now hate it. Not just because it is closing but because you have increased the withdrawal fee of tokens drastically compare to normal fee or other India or Foreign exchanges.
Do not come back ever!!!
— Tabrez (@Tabrez44455383) March 31, 2019
Another Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX has stepped in taking advantage of the situation and offered users a refund over their Coindelta withdrawal fees if they choose to transfer their deposits to its platform.
If your funds are stuck on Coindelta, don't panic! We've got you covered.
Move your #crypto to WazirX, and we'll refund you the withdrawal fee you'll have to pay on Coindelta! #IndiaWantsCrypto#Spreadtheword among your friends & followers.
More info ?https://t.co/M6HWYkTevE
— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) March 30, 2019
Coincidentally, the fourth of a series of blockchain supporter rallies were organized in the city of Bangalore onMarch 30, and the participants protested against the ongoing uncertainty as the Supreme Court mulls an expected final decision on the RBI ban.
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