Bybit Suspends Crypto Trading Services in India Amid Regulatory Changes

Global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced a temporary halt to its trading services in India, citing evolving regulatory developments.

The suspension will take effect on January 12 at 8:00 am UTC, affecting several services, including cryptocurrency trading, account openings, and order placements across its platform, according to a Friday press release.

“Due to recent developments from Indian regulators and in continuation of previously implemented restrictions, we regret to inform you that, effective Jan 12, 2025, 8AM UTC, Indian users will temporarily be unable to open new trades or access any products on the Bybit platform,” the exchange wrote.

Withdrawals Will Remain Unaffected

While trading operations are paused, Bybit reassured users that fund withdrawals remain unaffected.

Additionally, existing trading positions can still be managed under a “Close-Only” mode, allowing users to close positions but not modify or add to them.

ByBit says permanent goodbye to India🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/9sxyQMTvc0

— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) January 10, 2025

It is worth noting that Bybit launched digital rupee payments back in July, integrating the Indian central bank digital currency (CBDC) into its platform.

This is not the first time Bybit has faced regulatory challenges. In August 2024, the exchange ceased operations in France following regulatory pressures, with efforts currently underway to secure a license that would allow it to resume activities in the country.

Bybit has also faced scrutiny in Malaysia. In late December 2024, Malaysia’s Securities Commission ordered the platform to cease operations for operating an unregistered crypto exchange.

Bybit complied with the directive after being specifically instructed to ensure adherence to all regulatory requirements.

Despite these setbacks, Bybit is actively engaging with Indian regulators to finalize its registration as a virtual digital asset service provider, which it expects to complete in the coming weeks.

The exchange has not provided additional comments on the suspension but remains focused on securing compliance in key markets.

India’s Stance on Crypto Remains Ambiguous

India’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been somewhat ambiguous.

The imposition of strict crypto taxes in 2022 and the crypto market downturn led Indian traders to switch to international exchanges, negatively impacting the local crypto industry.

Trading volumes shifted back to Indian exchanges after the ban on offshore entities, however.

India also made it a priority to achieve global consensus on framing crypto policies as part of its G20 presidency in 2023.

The country successfully obtained agreement from all G20 members on global guidelines.

Nevertheless, India continues to grapple with rigid crypto tax rules.

During the announcement of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman upheld the controversial crypto tax regulations

Despite extensive lobbying from the cryptocurrency industry, which presented substantial evidence to advocate for a reduction in the tax-deducted-at-source (TDS) policy from 1% to 0.01%, the existing rules remain unchanged.