Update on 4th Sep 2018:
Zebpay Announcement About Your Rupee Balances
Update on 21st June 2018:
After our last communication regarding Zebpay's announcement about your Rupee balances customers have several questions in mind.
Here are some of the commonly asked questions, and our responses:
Q) Are rupee withdrawals working at present?
A) No.
Q) Are rupee deposit working at present?
A) No.
Q) You are only talking about rupee balances and withdrawals, what about BTC and other cryptos?
A) Crypto deposits and withdrawals are continuing as usual. The RBI circular only talks to banks, and other regulated entities about shutting accounts. This doesn’t affect BTC and other cryptos. Many of you have come to trust Zebpay with your crypto. We cherish that trust and want to assure you that nothing has changed on that front.
Q) Why did you make the announcement now, and not wait till the last date?
A) We issued multiple warnings after RBI issued the circular on 6 April 2018. The primary purpose was to inform our customers of the risks they face. There can always be issues that can arise out of everyone rushing to sell crypto, or withdraw rupees at the same time quite close to the last date.
Q) Why was Zebpay the first (or only) exchange to make such an announcement?
A) Bank account closure as per the RBI circular is not restricted to Zebpay or any specific Indian exchange. We do not think that our bank accounts will shut down before those of other Indian exchanges. We released this announcement while there was still plenty of time for customers to plan their actions. Our motivation was to act in the best interest of our customers.
Q) If I do not withdraw my INR from Zebpay, and your bank accounts shut, will I be able to buy crypto against that INR?
A) Zebpay has currently stopped Multicoin Trade, Buy/Sell of coins and Deposits/Withdrawals of INR in India, as per the RBI directives. Our entire industry is facing an unprecedented situation because of the RBI circular. For all practical purposes, banking is an essential service for any business. So, we are unable to fathom all the consequences of the bank account shutting and hence cannot guarantee that we will start the crypto-INR trade pairs in future. Zebpay wallet will continue to work even after the exchange stops. This means that you can still send and receive, hold coins/tokens into your wallet and transfer them to other wallets.
Q) So if I have INR balance in my Zebpay account after your bank accounts are shut, will I never get my money back?
A) We have processed withdrawal of all our customers who where holding INR balance in their Zebpay account.
Q) Owing to these announcements, the price volatility has increased. Does Zebpay itself buy/sell crypto to gain from these dips and spikes?
A) Absolutely not. Zebpay does not buy, sell, or trade in crypto. It is just an exchange platform that match-makes buy-and-sell orders of its customers.
Q) I have heard that there is an on-going court case related to the RBI circular? How will the result of that case change your plans?
A) Through our industry body, we and several other Indian exchanges have sought relief from the Supreme Court of India. Naturally, we cannot speculate about the outcome of legal proceedings. We hope that the authorities will recognize what is in the best interest of Indian citizens, and come to our rescue. If the outcome allows us to continue offering rupee deposits and withdrawals, then we will be very happy to do so.
Q) Regardless of anything, will crypto-to-crypto trading continue at Zebpay?
A) Yes our present intention is to continue offering crypto-to-crypto trading.
Q) Is Zebpay opening new accounts?
A) We have stopped taking new registration in India. For existing users of India, Zebpay wallet will continue to work even after the exchange stops. This means that they can still send and receive, hold coins/tokens into there wallet and transfer them to other wallets.