India: Here’s what’s next for crypto-exchanges after new tax slab news

A grave setback engulfed India’s cryptocurrency market last week when the country’s government introduced a 30% tax on digital asset income. While some have heralded it as a step towards the legitimization of the sector, many investors are crying foul over the high tax rate.

One of India’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges CoinSwitch Kuber, however, appears undeterred by the development. In fact, the exchange has taken this as an opportunity to diversify its offerings. CoinSwitch users will now have access to the recurring buy plan. This will allow users to compound their crypto-gains, the centralized exchange announced earlier on 7 February.

The RBP offering has been positioned as being similar to the more popular Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), in the sense that it allows users to allocate a specific amount of investment to an asset every month. This will allow users to compound their gains and dodge price volatility, CoinSwitch noted in a press release. Thus, adding that it will include investments in over 80 crypto-assets.

Commenting on the same, CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal noted,

“Crypto is an emerging but attractive asset class and has a higher degree of volatility in comparison to traditional assets. Recurring buy plan allows users experience the power of compounding by systematically buying cryptos and making regular, distributed purchases.”

While some might have seen the recent crypto-tax in India as a deterrent to growth, CoinSwitch has taken this opportunity to offer its growing user base systematic investments options and more diversification. This also highlights increasing maturity within the Indian crypto-industry.

The CEO of CoinSwitch’s rival WazirX is also spreading its wings similarly. Nischal Shetty recently announced the launch of a scaling platform known as Shardeum. Its introduction is also a sign of how larger market players are moving to capture the market.

These developments also provide weight to the solidarity shown by the founder of these companies towards the recently introduced crypto-tax. Shetty noted at the time that “the tax clarity is a welcome move” as it will “add to much-needed recognition to the crypto-ecosystem of India.”

Similarly, CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal also expressed similar positivity, calling it a “step in the right direction.”

On the other hand, the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) has been lobbying against the move to levy 1% TDS (tax deduction at source) on all crypto-transactions. They believe that this could severely affect crypto-trading volumes and drive small traders towards informal Person to Person (P2P) trading and decentralized exchanges (DEX).