The post India Crypto KYC: Live Verification Reshapes Onboarding appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

India has rolled out tougher oversight of digital asset platforms, with new india crypto kyc requirements reshaping how exchanges verify and monitor their customers. India formally classifies VDA platforms and tightens onboarding checks On January 8, the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND) issued updated guidelines that formally classify crypto exchanges as Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) service providers. Under this move, platforms must implement enhanced Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) controls. The changes aim to curb illicit finance risks tied to the speed and pseudonymous nature of crypto transactions. However, the new framework goes beyond traditional document-based onboarding. Reporting entities must conduct live identity verification and strengthen Client Due Diligence processes. Regulators argue that without these safeguards, digital assets could be misused for money laundering, terror financing and proliferation financing, especially given their cross-border and real-time characteristics. Under the guidelines, exchanges are required to identify customers using reliable and independent data sources. Moreover, platforms must collect an expanded set of technical identifiers, including IP addresses with timestamps, geolocation data, device IDs, wallet addresses and transaction hashes. These data points are intended to support verification, transaction monitoring and granular risk assessment. Mandatory PAN, bank verification and multi-factor checks The FIU has made it compulsory for exchanges to collect and verify a customer’s Permanent Account Number (PAN) before permitting any VDA-related activity. This links crypto activity directly to India’s tax identity framework and strengthens traceability. That said, the requirement also raises the bar for onboarding compared with earlier, more basic KYC flows. In FY 2024–25, a total of 49 crypto exchanges registered with FIU-IND to comply with AML and anti-terror financing obligations. Of these, 45 are India-based platforms, while 4 are overseas exchanges serving local users. The registration data underline the regulator’s intent to bring both domestic and foreign…

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Filed under: News - @ January 12, 2026 1:25 pm