What India's crypto industry expects from Budget: Taxation, regulatory clarity

The cryptocurrency industry has been eagerly waiting for more clarity on crypto taxation in India. A decision on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies will give the crypto sector a boost, Nischal Shetty, the founder and CEO of WazirX, has said.

“Besides regulatory clarity, we expect better clarity from the government on crypto taxation,” the WazirX CEO said, adding that India has been witnessing an economic recovery despite the Covid-19 waves.

Shetty further said, “We expect the Union Budget to present fine-tuned clarity on the crypto landscape.” A regulatory clarity will give the cryptocurrency sector a boost, accelerate its growth and potential to contribute to India's $5 trillion economy vision, he added.

“While the legal implementation still seems a while away, any initiative announced in the Budget would at least open a direct line of conversation on crypto classification as an asset class, its taxation policies and the blue-ocean opportunities available in this globally emerging segment,” he said.

The WazirX CEO also said that this would not only encourage institutional investments in the space but also open up job opportunities in the underserved markets.

What Polytrade CEO expects amid uncertainty around regulation

Polytrade Crypto CEO and Co-founder Piyush Gupta said, “We think regulatory clarity could be a welcome step in this sector that will address the apprehensions people might have in this transpiring asset class.”

The Polytrade Crypto CEO also expects that the upcoming budget will also reflect an innovation-focused futuristic outlook, with the regulation in sync with leading countries in this space.

“Further, agile and nimble regulations and regulatory structure on related technologies like Web 3.0 will allow innovation to thrive that will eventually propel India to the forefront of these technologies,” Gupta further said.

He added, “We are lucky to have a government that is open to incorporating new-age technology in solving immense challenges in a huge market economy like ours.”

'Budget should address misconceptions around crypto'

Sharan Nair, Chief Business Officer of CoinSwitch Kuber, hopes that the upcoming Budget 2022-23 will bring in regulatory clarity, help standardise best practices, and address misconceptions around this emerging asset class.

He also highlighted that various macroeconomic developments in India and the world over the last year have led to a rise in crypto adoption in India.

"Today, leading crypto exchanges follow strict self-regulatory practices to ensure customer protection," Nair said.

He further added, "We believe a regularised environment will encourage more Indians to start their crypto investing journey, promoting financial inclusion in line with the government's vision."

At present, India has the highest number of crypto owners globally, at 10.07 crore and according to a report, it is expected that the investment by Indians in cryptocurrency could touch $241 million by 2030.