Koinex shuts down; throws Indian Indian cryptocurrency market into uncertainty

India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange Koinex announced on Thursday that it was shutting its operations from 2 pm on June 27, blaming the decision on the ‘uncertainty and disruption’ in the crypto-sphere in India.

In a blogpost, Koinex Founder Rahul Raj announced the digital assets company’s shut down of operations after facing regulatory troubles and lack of bank support in the country.

“It is, without a doubt, a sad day for all digital assets and blockchain enthusiasts in India and we can’t express in words how hard it’s been for us to make this decision.”, Rahul Raj, co-founder of Koinex said in the his blog. 

“The last 14 months have been tough to operate a digital assets trading business in India, on account of the closure of bank accounts holding user deposits,” he added.

Last Year the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped banks from accessing the services of cryptocurrency firms.

“On April 6, 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 and block all such crypto-related transactions.”, he said.

However, the RBI’s decision has been challenged in the Supreme court and a verdict is yet to come. 

He said that he faced denial in payments from payment getaways and transaction blocking for the trading of digital assets.

The crypto-market in India has been in disarray since the start of the year due to the ambiguous stand on crypto-assets by the regulators. Things further took a downward spiral with the RBI directive reprimanding banks from partnering with crypto-entities. 

About Koinex: 
Founders: Rahul Raj, Rakesh Yadav, Aditya Naik 
Sector: Digital assets