The Indian cryptocurrency industry has been growing rapidly despite the nationwide lockdown and the coronavirus crisis. Two new cryptocurrency trading platforms are launching in India while existing crypto businesses seek clarification from the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
New Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms Launching in India
The crypto sector in India is showing significant growth with several crypto exchanges reporting a 10X increase in trading volumes and a substantial increase in new users. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, new cryptocurrency trading platforms are launching in India.
Global cryptocurrency exchange aggregator Coinswitch is launching a crypto trading app for Indian users on June 1. Announcing pre-registration for Coinswitch Kuber, Coinswitch explained on Wednesday:
Coinswitch Kuber will ensure the best rates by aggregating liquidity across all Indian exchanges and will support over 100 currencies for Indian users to buy and sell easily using Indian rupees (INR).
Coinswitch aggregates the liquidity of a number of crypto exchanges in India to provide its users with the best rates for cryptocurrencies. The exchanges include Binance, Huobi, Kucoin, and Hitbtc. To access this pooled liquidity, users simply enter the INR amount and the cryptocurrency they want to buy, and the service will provide a list of offers at various exchanges that “auto-refreshes every 30 seconds.”
The first 25,000 users during pre-launch pay no INR trading, deposit, or withdrawal fees. Users can earn Coinswitch points, or Kuber points, as a part of the new platform’s reward program, which can be redeemed from the reward section once the platform is live.
Besides Coinswitch, another cryptocurrency exchange has launched in India. The Bangalore-based Bitpolo announced on Thursday that it is now live. The exchange offers instant INR deposits and claims that withdrawals are “within seconds.” Chief business officer Suresh Choudhary said:
We were building through the bear market and thought the timing of our launch cannot be more apt than when the world is slowly inching back towards normalcy post a pandemic & recessionary environment.
“As we foresee fragilities of traditional asset classes, crypto markets seem to offer the bigger upside and we intend to bring simplicity and solid technology to the screens of Indian traders and hodlers,” Bitpolo added.
Businesses Seek Answers From RBI
Ever since the Supreme Court of India quashed the RBI ban, the Indian crypto community has been waiting for more instruction from the central bank. The RBI has not sent any notices to banks regarding the supreme court’s ruling, which has led some banks to continue denying service to crypto businesses. According to reports, the central bank is not obligated to issue any updates.
A number of crypto businesses have reportedly approached the RBI seeking clarity on the status of the banking ban and the taxation of cryptocurrency. “The cryptocurrency exchanges also want clarity as to whether they are being categorized as commodity, currency, goods or service as this is set to impact the way they get taxed under goods and services tax (GST) framework,” the Economic Times reported Monday.
“If the digital assets are not exempted from GST, the digital currency exchanges in India are going to have a standoff with the tax authority,” Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Belfrics Global, was quoted by the news outlet as saying. He elaborated:
In the wake of the recent supreme court ruling, we have also approached the RBI for clarity on this, as if we pay GST on the whole transaction, then most platforms would not be able to survive.
Several Indian tax authorities have been examining how to tax bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The indirect tax department has been investigating whether cryptocurrency could be brought under GST and how much to tax crypto exchanges. The sales tax department and VAT authorities are also looking into cryptocurrency taxation.
What do you think about how fast the Indian crypto sector is growing? Let us know in the comments section below.
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