The Income-Tax (I-T) Department has detected widespread tax evasion involving cryptocurrencies and, according to media reports, has issued emails to thousands of defaulting taxpayers seeking transaction details. Investors must understand the tax rules governing crypto assets and respond promptly to these emails.
'India should start leveraging rather than banning crypto.'
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
'Trump's sons, and the son of Trump's Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, are in the crypto business and recently signed deals with Pakistan's crypto council.' 'It may not be coincidental that not long before the Trump-Munir meeting, the head of Pakistan's crypto council met with Trump's White House crypto policy czar.'
The ED probe into alleged money laundering by crypto exchange WazirX and the subsequent squabbling among its promoters has revealed the 'darker side' of cryptocurrencies, a top government source said on Thursday. The source added that people should exercise caution in absence of a regulation to govern cryptocurrencies and so-called exchanges trading in them. "Caution is the word that should be in the minds of the people dealing with crypto. "In the episode of WazirX, people got to know many darker sides, caution is necessary in crypto transaction," the source said.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.
Zomato is at 5, Swiggy at 9, Blinkit at 10.
The move comes barely a week after fellow crypto unicorn CoinDCX laid off 12 per cent of its workforce - an estimated 80 employees - amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty in the sector. CoinSwitch has 519 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile. This means around 8 per cent of its workforce were shown the door.
Who else will take on the might of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon if not the Adanis, Ambanis, Birlas, or Tatas?, asks R Jagannathan.
This mission is the 14th human flight for the New Shepard programme and the 34th in its history.
'That way you're not hostage just to US sort of exports to India.'
Several exchanges are facing a cash crunch with committed investment not coming from venture capital funds and trading activity seeing a sharp decline, reports Rajesh Bhayani.
: Build lasting wealth via disciplined, long-term mutual fund investing in India's compounding marathon, Shanaihi, Shanaihi, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
A few days back, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the start-up community and public to deal in cryptocurrency with caution because everything that was floating around was not currency. In the first week of August, the country's top nine crypto exchange platforms were summoned by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Hyderabad. The exchanges were questioned for money laundering, especially over a number of Indian non-banking financial companies and their fintech partners for predatory lending practices in violation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and by using tele-callers who misuse personal data and use abusive language to extort high interest rates from the loan takers.
With days to go before the new tax regime around crypto assets kicks in, several investors are reportedly either booking profits, rejigging their portfolios or moving their crypto assets to their private wallets outside of India. Starting April, gains from trading in crypto and other virtual assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be taxed at a flat 30 per cent, as announced in the Union Budget. And, 1 per cent of tax will be deducted at source (TDS) on every transaction involving crypto and other virtual assets. The new tax regime also bars investors from offsetting losses from one crypto asset (such as Bitcoin) against gains from another (say, Ethereum).
The income-tax department may make a permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for cryptocurrency investors, in line with the demat account rules for stock market transactions, according to two people privy to the discussion. At present, disclosure of crypto holdings and related gains is voluntary. If tax authorities go ahead with the PAN mandate, crypto exchanges will have to furnish a statement of financial transactions (SFT) before the income-tax department.
'If you are ready to stomach the loss, you may invest 3-5 per cent of your portfolio in crypto assets.' 'Of this, 80-90 per cent should be in Bitcoin.'
Traders who pay in rupees generate over Rs 50 crore in daily cryptocurrency volumes. Indians actually invest a great deal more in forex-denominated trades, observes Devangshu Dutta, explaining why it is impossible to ban cryptocurrency.
'To the believers of crypto regulations, I have only one question to ask, how will you regulate it?'
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'Pakistan has found itself in a favourable position after Operation Sindoor by appreciating the mediation as claimed by Trump and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize.'
The recent Bitcoin rally, which saw the cryptocurrency surge past the $100,000 mark on Thursday, is drawing Indian investors in droves. Cryptocurrency platforms in India are experiencing a significant uptick in activity and user sign-ups, driven by the optimism surrounding "crypto-friendly" Donald Trump's US presidential election victory.
Fan tokens are a type of cryptocurrency that allow holders to vote
The cryptocurrency industry on Wednesday urged the government to take a nuanced approach towards regulating crypto assets in India and asked investors in the country to remain calm and not arrive at a rushed conclusion, a day after the government listed for introduction a Bill to ban all such cryptocurrencies, with some exceptions.
'Trump has personally weighed in to overcome doubts and reservations about Pakistan among his top advisors.'
'Trump is likely being purposefully vague, hoping that this lack of clarity will pressure India, fearing the worst, to agree to scale back its imports of Russian oil.'
If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Indian banks have started exploring opportunities in the space, including lending to crypto exchanges, and accepting bitcoins as collateral, among others.
FOMO-driven investing is reshaping India's stock market. Swati Saxena explains how social media hype fuels risky bets and how to protect your wealth.
'As an investor, I either have to exit my investments in the next three months or use dark pools or cash to transact. For a normal investor, it will be almost impossible to transact in bitcoin and other digital currencies.'
Making a strong case for banning cryptocurrencies, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar on Monday said they are even worse than ponzi schemes and threaten the financial sovereignty of a country. Observing that crypto-technology is underpinned by a philosophy to evade government controls, he said they have been specifically developed to bypass the regulated financial system. More substantially, he added, cryptocurrencies can wreck the currency system, monetary authority, banking system, and in general the government's ability to control the economy.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued detailed guidelines on facilitating tax deducted at source (TDS) on virtual digital assets (VDA) or crypto assets, under which date of transfer and mode of payment will have to be specified. From July 1, TDS of 1 per cent will be levied on payments towards virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies beyond Rs 10,000 in a year, as the Finance Act 2022 has introduced Section 194S in the income tax (I-T) Act. The department has explained different scenarios through six questions to remove difficulties.
Climate and sustainable development financing, multilateral institution reforms, regulation of digital assets, the spillover effect on developing economies from actions of western central banks, energy and food security in the backdrop of war in Europe, and sanctions on Russia and their impact on the global economy are some of the agenda items that India will take up as President of G-20, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. India will take over as President of the powerful international grouping on December 1 for a year. There will be around 200 meetings throughout the country, with the summit Heads of State meeting expected to be held in New Delhi next September.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that income from digital asset transfers will be taxed at a rate of 30 per cent. This move is seen as 'crypto tax'.
A key reason for the rise in crypto currencies in 2023 is the possibility of the world's first Bitcoin ETF over the next few months.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting in Davos through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.
A new cyber fraud known as 'pig butchering scam' or 'investment scam' has emerged, targeting unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people who are made to lose large sums of money daily, according to the latest annual report of the Union home ministry.
'Any entrepreneur who wants to create companies on blockchain will have to move outside India.' 'A ban will also wipe out the entire asset investing class that has built up in India.'
Amid concerns over misleading claims of huge returns on cryptocurrency investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting on the way forward on the issue, with government sources asserting that such unregulated markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for "money laundering and terror financing".
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said cryptocurrencies are akin to 'a world of Caribbean pirates' in the absence of a centralised regulatory authority and are yet to pass the test of a fiat currency. He said that the government is pursuing a 'high-wire balancing act' to ensure that the gains in growth, inflation, and rupee stability of the last four years are not frittered away. He said the recent development in Terra-Luna cryptocurrency, which witnessed a massive meltdown last month, is a 'very important cautionary tale'.
