India has kept its restrictive crypto tax rules unchanged in 2023. In fact, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention crypto, virtual digital assets, blockchain or central bank digital currencies (digital rupee) while unveiling the nation’s budget, which indicates the latest tax rules.

Last year, the world's largest democracy instituted stiff taxes on crypto transactions: a 30% tax on profits and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all transactions. Predictions from the industry that the year would be a "period of pain" ostensibly came true.

Crypto trading volumesplummetedalmost immediately, Indians moved more than$3.8 billionin trading volume from local to international crypto exchanges in the nine months after the announcement and interest in cryptonosedived.

Several individuals closely working in the crypto regulatory space had publicly said they were hopeful for a tax cut but privately opined that it was unlikely, CoinDesk hadreportedearlier this week.

Theprimary demandfrom the industry and recommendation from policy think tanks was to reduce the TDS to 0.01%, or at minimum to 0.1%.

No changes to existing crypto taxes has left "indian crypto companies on the stairway to heaven," said Rajagopal Menon, Vice President of Indian crypto exchange WazirX. "We hope that the government will reconsider its position on crypto taxes."

Sumit Gupta, the co-founder of CoinDCX, another Indian exchange,saidthis was "not good for our country and those building in this sector in India" but that he was still "committed to partnering with the government to devise policies that are conducive to the sustainable growth of the ecosystem."

India has kept a crypto bill in cold storagesince early last yearsaying crypto regulation cannot succeed without global coordination – something itsprioritizedwith its agenda setting power of holding the G-20 presidency.