Zebpay, an Indian Crypto Exchange, stops all trading activity after months of resisting the Indian Central Banks ban on cryptocurrency.

Zebpay, an Indian Crypto exchange with over 250,000 users has shut its trading down due to the Indian Central Bank’s ban on cryptocurrency. They could no longer resist the ban and although their wallet still works all trading has now been closed. They announced the news via Twitter, giving just a few hours notice to their users.

In order to maintain the wallet, they closed all unexecuted orders and returned the coins to the wallets. They also confirmed that no new orders would be accepted until further notice. Zebpay assured users that the wallet would remain usable and open even after the exchange stops.

Zebpay posted to medium to explain the situation, claiming that they ‘continued to look for solutions,’ despite many of the banking problems in India. They say they ‘did not want India to miss the bus of digital assets that power the blockchain,’ which has much potential for helping Indians across the subcontinent.

The most powerful statement comes toward the end of the post:
“However, the recent past has been extremely difficult. The curb on bank accounts has crippled our, and our customer’s, ability to transact business meaningfully. At this point, we are unable to find a reasonable way to conduct the cryptocurrency exchange business.”

This shows the real impact that these regulations by the Indian Central Bank have had on the company. Curbing their business and curbing the business of crypto users across India. In April the Reserve Bank of India announced that all regulated financial bodies were banned from dealing with cryptocurrency related companies. This matter has been taken to court, however, the case has been postponed and the ban remains.

Included in the hostility towards crypto in India is the crackdown by tax authorities on crypto businesses even though the area of taxation remains grey. This seems openly hostile when you consider that only 1% of Indian’s pay Income Tax altogether.

India is one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world, but also with a huge wealth divide. Therefore, it is a country that could benefit hugely from blockchain and cryptocurrency, putting many people on the legislative ladder. Unfortunately, the government and RBI do not see it this way, and India may miss the crypto boom.

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