The Indian cryptocurrency space has come a long way since its inception and despite an unclear policy environment, new projects are sprouting up every day in this looming industry. Given that India has one of the fastest-growing digital finance populations in Asia, its cryptocurrency regulation is understandably cautious but nevertheless forward-weaning.
The article is an insight to understand the current stance of cryptocurrency in India, which ranges from legal framework to tax policies on crypto exchanges and how some key Indian blockchain projects are working toward shaping a new future.
Top Crypto Exchanges / Projects in India
Top 5 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in India On the basis of turnovers (2024)
1. WazirX:
WazirX is one of the largest and most popular crypto exchanges in India, it allows trading over 460+ cryptocurrencies. It also caters for peer-to-peer transactions and boasts of multilingual support. WazirX: Similar low competition trading fee (0.1%-0.2%) + 95% of the funds are kept in cold storage for safety.
2. Mudrex:
One of the most popular investment platforms known for its cryptocurrency Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) offering more than 380+ tokens. Mudrex crypto exchanger glorifies its crypto beginner-friendly or newbie service to get started with a transaction fee of 0.25%, which offers dynamic investment prefectures on risk management aspect for its users as well.
3. CoinDCX:
Also, CoinDCX is the Indian exchange with best-in-industry 500+ Cryptocurrencies and developed landmarks like futures trading, margin trading , lending & borrowing services. Security section in their platform contains the use of biometric verifications and free deposits and withdrawals. The trading fee is set between 0.3%-0.5%, depending on the volume of transaction you made within the last 30 days in your account.
4. CoinSwitch:
CoinSwitch is perfect if you are new to cryptocurrency trading as it offers a user-friendly interface. Although, spot and future trading is enabled in 100+ cryptocurrencies and the minimum investment criteria is INR 100. CoinSwitch exchange also offers 24/7 live chatbot support for better user experience and the trading costs are between 0.4%–0.5% (depending on volume) to effectively execute a trade vs directly using the exchange yourself.
5. ZebPay:
ZebPay is the oldest crypto exchange in India, it supports more than 150+ cryptocurrencies and has over 5 million users. They have a strong reputation in security and low fees — no charges for quick trades of crypto-to-crypto or 0.5% fee on the same trade from/into fiat.
India’s Crypto Regulations
India’s government designates cryptocurrencies as “Virtual Digital Assets” (VDAs) under the Income Tax Act of 1961. Residents are required to pay a 30% capital gains tax on transactions involving cryptocurrencies, and as of July 2022, under certain thresholds for individual transactions (₹10,000) or when transacting with specific individuals (₹50,000), this 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) applies. The entire payment system is predicated upon monitoring and maintaining compliance within the crypto ecosystem.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not banned cryptocurrencies in India, but exhibiting a pronounced ambivalence, it still warns of the danger of creating financial instability. The Indian Finance Ministry, with the other regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is striving to highlight a specified global regulatory framework option. At the time of India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, this was a focus point for argument exemplified by this topic at meetings.
In 2024, India is about to release a white paper framework for the nation’s public instigation on cryptocurrency which should mention a clear and visible regulatory mold to turn out the thoughts of both investors and institutions. The policy is focusing and highlighting on protecting investors assets by minimizing the risks such as Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing through Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations as well.
Cryptocurrency Taxation in India
A central feature of the current governmental habitat in India regarding cryptocurrencies is tax. In the 2022 budget, a uniform tax of 30% was imposed on income from the sale or transfer of digital assets such as bitcoins, cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
Moreover, there is also a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for transactions more than ₹50,000 in some situations. This is one of the highest tax rates in any country globally and many individuals within their industry have made calls for this to be lowered as part on forward budgets given lower levels of market activity as well some traders moving offshore.
Other calls within the industry have been for this tax burden to be decreased in order to encourage innovation and investment across blockchain. Another suggestion is to include lighter taxes on capital gains and cuts on TDS, etc., which are believed by many to increase the attraction of people into the crypto economy.
Top Cryptocurrency in India
#Polygon (MATIC)

Launched in 2017 by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, Polygon (MATIC) is one of the top Indian crypto coins. It solves the high fees and slow speeds of Ethereum with faster, cheaper transactions using its Layer-2 scaling solution. Renamed to Polygon in 2021 from Matic Network, their native token, called MATIC, is used for fees within the chain and for staking as well as in protocol governance. Polygon emerges as the center of attraction for DApps, DeFi platforms and NFTs. It has a growing ecosystem and some of the main partnerships as well, it is heading towards sustainability and future innovations, which are like zkEVM for better security and efficiency.
The Future of Cryptocurrency in India
The Indian government is still working on an overarching framework for cryptocurrency, Not until 2024 at least Though the country appears unlikely to legalize cryptocurrencies as legal tender completely just yet, there is some sense of hope for better guidelines and hence an organized market. The forthcoming Union Budget is likely to mark a pivotal moment in the industry with leaders demanding lower taxes and policy initiatives that favor investors.
At the same, time this pushback from govt for private crypto coupled with Digital Rupee by Indian Central Bank also means that while innovations of Blockchain and digital assets are being recognized a lot more than ever before, anything specific to FOPL like use will be from opposition parties or at best no stand in case status quo is maintained on what government wants.
As far as the cryptocurrency sector of India is concerned, it stands at a crucial stage. There are obstacles that governments have to overcome with respect to regulation, but greater light might be seen during the next few years as a more concise or pro-cryptocurrency legal framework may develop. As Indian blockchain projects and exchanges continue to rise, which is already happening in a broader context of Global Crypto Adoption (most significantly in the DeFi space), digital assets have an exciting future ahead in India. A regulatory environment that promotes innovation while guarding against the risk of scams, money laundering, and financial instability is essential to unlocking this potential.