Indian Crypto Exchange Unocoin Suspends Fiat Deposits, Withdrawals in Wake of RBI Ban

Unocoin, a major Indian crypto wallet provider and exchange, has suspended rupee (INR) deposits and withdrawals “as per orders” from the country’s central bank, according to Unocoin’s blog post July 23.

Unocoin notified its customers that fiat deposits and withdrawals are “temporarily disabled” until “an alternative method of funding is identified and deployed.”

Meanwhile, crypto asset deposits continue to be active on both Unocoin’s crypto-rupee trading platform and partner crypto-crypto exchange Unodax.

Unocoin users can also continue to use their existing rupee balance to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), and crypto-rupee and crypto-crypto pairs remain live on Unodax.

Unocoin is the latest domestic crypto industry player to feel the impact of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) controversial ban on banks' dealings with crypto-related businesses and persons, after the deadline for its implementation expired earlier this month, July 5.

On July 4, another major domestic exchange, Zebpay, preempted the deadline by freezing fiat deposits and withdrawals. That same day, fellow exchange WazirX revealed it would transform into a P2P platform so as to avoid in-house crypto-fiat conversion.

The central bank’s crypto dealings ban — first announced in April 2018 — has prompted both public and industry-led petitions, with some appealing to the courts on the grounds that the decision is unconstitutional.

Ongoing hearings on the ban at the Supreme Court have seen the judiciary refuse to grant interim relief to those that purport to be affected. Last week, the court deferred the final hearing on the ban, originally scheduled for July 20, until September 2018.