In an unique chat with 99Bitcoins.com, Nischal Shetty, Shardeum Co-Founder, and the person behind India’s largest crypto alternate WazirX, talks about navigating the nation’s “Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” method.”
Indian member of Parliament, Raghav Chadha not too long ago pushed for a Nationwide Blockchain Property Register to make land data tamper-proof. The Rajya Sabha MP cited examples from Sweden, the UAE and Georgia, saying blockchain adoption might streamline property transactions
Is that this the particular use case that lastly drives mass adoption in India?
Land data on blockchain could possibly be extremely impactful, nevertheless it’s unlikely to be the set off for mass crypto adoption. Methods like doc verification, telecom DLT, and DigiLocker integrations show that adoption can attain inhabitants scale with out residents ever interacting with tokens.
The importance of blockchain in land data is due to this fact institutional, not retail-driven. If carried out properly, it strengthens belief, reduces disputes, and improves administrative effectivity. India’s adoption story could not appear to be a surge in crypto utilization, however the quiet embedding of blockchain into governance methods, which is arguably the extra sturdy type of adoption.
In Parliament, I defined why India should put land & property data on BLOCKCHAIN.
Land data in India are in utter chaos. Extraordinary residents are made to run from pillar to put up at registrar places of work, whereas dalals and middlemen seize the system. Circle charges are exploited to… pic.twitter.com/zeI4KzL0mz
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) February 10, 2026
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“There’s a variety of alternatives for crypto in India regardless of the present harsh tax regime,” Says Nischal Shetty
The 30% crypto tax stays, plus a brand new $545 penalty for missed stories. Is the federal government making an attempt to control the sector, or simply slowly suffocate it?
“The coverage sign seems rooted in threat management,” Says Nischal Shetty
Whereas 1% TDS and no loss offset for revenue tax is detrimental to the business and pushes everybody to offshore exchanges, the penalty for missed stories ought to be seen as a progressive step in the direction of a regulatory framework.
Politicians need blockchain for governance however tax the property to loss of life. Can India really succeed with this ‘Blockchain YES, Crypto NO’ method?
The “Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” method will result in crypto innovation transferring offshore. Blockchain solely makes use of circumstances that work for Authorities and B2B use circumstances however you can not have B2C use circumstances with out crypto. India ought to encourage B2C use circumstances which is able to assist create a big startup ecosystem within the nation and add to growing the scale of our financial system.
“Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” method will result in crypto innovation transferring offshore,
Given the hostile tax and penalty setting on this price range, is it nonetheless viable to construct in India, or is transferring offshore the one choice?
I positively assume there’s a variety of alternatives for crypto in India regardless of the present harsh tax regime round crypto within the nation. Over time I do want to see the Authorities casting off TDS or decreasing it to 0.01%. The Indian ecosystem has at all times discovered to adapt and develop and I imagine we are going to see the identical within the Crypto ecosystem as properly.
A ₹100 crore Bitcoin rip-off was simply uncovered. How can legit exchanges show they’re protected with out inviting even harsher authorities oversight?
Coping with FIU registered entities helps cut back this concern for purchasers to a big extent. Exchanges like WazirX, Pi42, Zebpay and so on are FIU registered and that brings legitimacy. Additionally they should observe KYC and AML tips. The current January 8 FIU tips in India are much more complete and produce about larger emphasis on compliance. It’s necessary for everybody within the Indian crypt business to bear in mind about these tips and take care of entities which might be FIU registered. Moreover, doing background checks on the groups behind the merchandise you employ additionally helps keep away from falling for such scams to a big extent.
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