The uncertainty surrounding India’s stance on cryptocurrencies has claimed another victim. Coindelta, one of the more prominent exchanges in the country, shut down operations this past Saturday due to a lack of regulations in India, despite an order by the Supreme Court for regulators to have guidelines in place by the end of last month.
According to a Coindelta blog post, “Much to our regret, we will no longer be able to provide exchange services for cryptocurrencies. It has been really difficult for us to operate Coindelta exchange for the last 6 months. The curb on the bank accounts by RBI [Reserve Bank of India] 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.”
The company adds, “Running the exchange is very expensive in such unfavourable environment. We have been operating at a minimal trade fee, bearing all the costs ourselves ensuring that your trading experience remains unaffected in the current unregulated environment. Economically, it’s no longer viable to continue with the exchange. It brings us no joy in ceasing operations. It broke our hearts to do that but it is the need of the hour considering limited resources at your disposal.”
Coindelta will continue to offer wallet services until April 29. This will give users enough time to withdraw funds they have on the platform and the company indicates that it might consider making a return if the state of crypto regulations in the country improves.
Last September, Zebpay, the country’s largest crypto exchange, gave up due to the RBI ban and moved to Malta. There have also been a number of smaller operations that have closed due to the continuous inability on the part of lawmakers to move forward with crypto regulations.
The RBI began prohibiting banks from working with crypto-based entities early last year in a move that many saw as unconstitutional. Court battles have ensued but, a year later, there is still no clear consensus on which direction the country is heading.
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