FIU-IND Crypto: What It Is, Why It Matters, and Which Exchanges Are Affected

When you hear FIU-IND, India's Financial Intelligence Unit responsible for tracking suspicious crypto transactions. Also known as Financial Intelligence Unit—India, it doesn't create crypto laws—it enforces them. This agency is the reason some exchanges vanished overnight in India, while others stayed open with full KYC and transaction logs. If you traded crypto in India after 2022, you’ve already felt its impact—even if you didn’t know it.

FIU-IND doesn’t ban crypto. It bans unregistered crypto platforms. That’s a huge difference. Exchanges like Binance India, ZebPay, and CoinDCX had to apply for registration under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). If they didn’t, they got blocked. Some did. Others didn’t. The ones that didn’t? They’re gone. Users lost access. Withdrawals froze. And no one came to fix it. This isn’t about stopping crypto—it’s about forcing exchanges to play by rules that match real-world banking. Every transaction must be tracked. Every user must be verified. No anonymous trading. No offshore shell companies hiding behind fake names.

That’s why crypto exchanges banned in India, platforms that refused to register with FIU-IND and lost their legal right to operate show up in news headlines. It’s also why you’ll see guides listing which exchanges are still safe to use today. The ones that passed FIU-IND’s checks—like WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber—still operate. They report everything. They freeze suspicious accounts. They cooperate with authorities. That’s not a weakness. It’s a shield. For users, it means less risk of sudden shutdowns. For regulators, it means less money laundering. For traders, it means fewer surprises.

And here’s the thing: FIU-IND doesn’t care if you hold Bitcoin or Ethereum. It cares if the platform you use can prove who you are and where your money came from. That’s why even small exchanges that never made headlines got shut down. They couldn’t meet the paperwork, the audits, the real-time reporting requirements. The cost of compliance was too high. So they closed. Meanwhile, bigger players absorbed the cost—and now they’re the only ones left standing.

If you’re in India and you’re still trading crypto, you’re probably using a platform that’s FIU-IND registered. If you’re not, you’re taking a risk. Not because crypto is illegal—but because the exchange you’re using might disappear tomorrow with your funds. That’s the reality. FIU-IND turned India’s crypto scene from a wild west into a regulated marketplace. It’s not perfect. But it’s real. And if you want to stay safe, you need to know who’s playing by the rules—and who isn’t.

Below, you’ll find detailed reviews of exchanges that got blocked, guides on how to check if your platform is compliant, and breakdowns of what FIU-IND actually requires. No fluff. Just facts you can use to protect your money.