Share this article
India Mulls Imposing 18% Tax on Bitcoin Transactions
The move is viewed by some as a sign the Indian government is warming up to cryptocurrencies.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:49 a.m. Published Dec 29, 2020, 10:41 a.m.
The Indian government is considering a bitcoin transaction tax that would add $1 billion in revenue a year, a move some industry participants said is a sign of the government's growing comfort with cryptocurrencies.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
A proposal put forward to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) would categorize bitcoin as an intangible asset and impose an 18% goods and services (GST) tax on bitcoin transactions, according to The Times of India. The proposal also suggests treating bitcoin as current assets and charging GST on margins made in trading.
An 18% GST on the estimated annual value of all bitcoin transactions of INR 40,000 crore (roughly $5.5 billion) would yield INR 7,200 crore or $1 billion in tax revenue.
Prominent India-based crypto exchanges say a potential tax structure would bode well for the ecosystem.
"Government mulling a tax structure is a sign of better understanding of this novel asset class and we are hopeful that this would lead to more positive news going forward," Sumit Gupta, CEO of Mumbai-based crypto exchange CoinDCX, said in a WhatsApp chat. "Regarding the tax rate, and structure is something that we'll wait and watch, but this is definitely a positive sign."
Nischal Shetty, CEO of the Binance-owned WazirX exchange, echoed similar sentiments and added that clarity on the tax front could pave the way for increased Indian institutional participation in the bitcoin market. WazirX and Bangalore-based exchange Bitbns said that they are already paying GST on trading fees. "The GST amount paid has grown 500% in the last few months," Gaurav Dahake, founder and CEO of Bangalore-based exchange Bitbns, told CoinDesk.
See also: India’s Banks Are Once More Serving Crypto Traders and Exchanges
Trading volumes on exchanges catering to India-based clients have been rising ever since the Supreme Court quashed the Reserve Bank of India'sbanking ban on cryptocurrencies in March. While the Indian government does not consider bitcoin legal tender, simply holding cryptocurrencies is not illegal or banned.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Stuck in Post-Fed Range as Altcoins Slump Deepens
Bitcoin remains trapped in a range despite the U.S. rate cut, while altcoins and memecoins struggle to attract risk appetite amid shifting investor behavior.
What to know:
- BTC briefly dipped below $90,000 after Wednesday's 25 basis-point U.S. rate cut before rebounding, but price action lacked a clear fundamental catalyst.
- Tokens such as JUP, KAS and QNT posted double-digit weekly losses, while CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index fell to a cycle low of 16/100.
- CoinDesk’s Memecoin Index is down 59% year-to-date versus a 7.3% decline in the CD10, highlighting a shift from retail-driven hype to more institutionally led, slower-moving markets.
Top Stories
