Union minister Bhagwat Karad said on Saturday that cryptocurrencies are not legal in India and that their future is uncertain at the moment.
Fast facts
- Many investors and exchanges had viewed a decision to impose a 30% tax on cryptocurrency profits as a step toward validating the industry.
- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, clarified last Friday that taxing crypto does not make it legitimate and that the government has a sovereign right to tax income irrespective of whether it is generated by legal or illegal means, she said.
- Finance secretary T.V. Somanathan said on Feb. 2 that the taxing of crypto is comparable to that of a gambling tax, and legality remains in a gray area.
- Regarding the future of crypto in the country, both Karad and Sitharaman said that no decision has been made on banning or legalizing crypto, throwing cold water onto expectations from investors and exchanges.