Buying crypto in India: pick a registered platform, then plan for the 30% tax

The hard part of buying crypto in India is not finding an app. It is paying the tax correctly and moving rupees in and out without trouble. India topped the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index for the third year running in 2025 and placed sixth under the new 2026 methodology. Yet gains are taxed at 30%, every sale loses 1% to TDS, and losses can't be offset. Many users drift to offshore apps and P2P, and some end up with a frozen bank account.

This page puts the law, the tax, an exchange ranking, payment rails and P2P risks in one place. If you mostly want stablecoins, read our guide to buying USDT. For India's neighbours, see Pakistan and Bangladesh.

01India crypto passport

02Is crypto legal in India? FIU-IND registration and the RBI

Short answer: yes, but there is no crypto law. In 2026 Lok Sabha replies, the Minister of State for Finance said virtual digital assets are unregulated and that no ban is under consideration. You can buy, hold and trade them, but they aren't legal tender and there's no dedicated investor-protection scheme if a platform fails.

The closest thing to a licence came on 7 March 2023, when the Finance Ministry made VDA service providers "reporting entities" under Section 2(sa)(vi) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. They must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND), run KYC, keep records and file suspicious-transaction reports. The rule also covers offshore exchanges serving Indians. Keep in mind that FIU-IND registration is an AML registration, not investor protection. As of mid-2026, about 54 providers were registered (WazirX's own blog says 49), and FIU-IND does not publish a consolidated list.

Fines and comebacks: Binance, KuCoin, Bybit, Coinbase

FIU-IND posts its compliance orders publicly. On 28 December 2023 it sent notices to nine unregistered offshore exchanges and asked MeitY to block their URLs and apps. What happened next:

Source: FIU-IND compliance orders. Further notices went to 25 offshore platforms in Oct 2025 and 15 more in Sep 2026.

The Reserve Bank of India, meanwhile, hasn't softened. Its 2018 banking ban was struck down by the Supreme Court on 4 March 2020 (IAMAI v. RBI), but in July 2026 the RBI told Parliament crypto should not be legalised and pointed to the e-rupee instead. The government's long-promised discussion paper was shelved again by April 2026. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance took its final evidence on 16 September 2026 and floated an interim self-regulatory body under SEBI or the RBI. Nothing has been decided.

According to the Parliament panel, about 91.5% of Indian crypto volume went to offshore platforms, leaving an estimated Rs 2,634 crore of TDS uncollected. That's why FIU-IND keeps widening its notice lists. On an unregistered platform you carry the risk of a sudden block and a hard time getting your money back.

03Crypto TDS and the 30% tax in India

India's crypto tax rules are among the strictest in Asia. There aren't many of them, but none of them bend:

• Flat 30% (Section 115BBH) on gains, whatever your income or holding period, plus 4% cess (about 31.2%) and surcharge for higher earners.
• Only the cost of acquisition is deductible. Trading fees, gas and indexation are not.
• No loss set-off. A loss on Bitcoin can't offset a gain on Ether or any other income, and it can't be carried forward.
• 1% TDS (Section 194S, since 1 July 2022) on sales above Rs 10,000 a year (Rs 50,000 for "specified persons"). Exchanges deduct it automatically on order-book trades; on P2P the buyer is legally responsible.
• Airdrops, staking and mining are taxed at slab rates when received, then at 30% when sold.

Budget 2026 left both sections untouched; industry requests to cut TDS to 0.01–0.1% and allow loss set-off went nowhere. The Income Tax Department has sent 44,000+ notices over roughly Rs 889 crore of unreported VDA transactions. File in Schedule VDA, which exists only in ITR-2 and ITR-3. One caveat: the new Income-tax Act 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026 and may have renumbered these provisions, so check with your CA. For a country-by-country comparison, see our Asia crypto tax guide.

04Best crypto exchanges in India (FIU-IND registered)

We rank only platforms that are FIU-IND registered and accept Indian residents. Scores weigh registration status, INR funding, real costs, security record and app experience. Fees come from official pages or press reports and change often, so check the platform's own fee page before you trade.

1. Best overall

   CoinDCXMumbai · FIU-IND registered

   One of the largest Indian exchanges, with free INR deposits via UPI, IMPS, NEFT and RTGS and the widest coin list among domestic players. A hot wallet used for internal liquidity lost about $44M on 19 July 2025; CoinDCX said company funds covered it and customer assets were untouched. Coinbase holds a minority stake at a $2.45B valuation, cleared by the Competition Commission of India.

   • About 0.1% on Pro (press reports)
   • Google Play 4.5★ · 10M+
   • July 2025 hot-wallet loss
   8.6/10

   Official site ↗
2. CoinSwitchBengaluru · FIU-IND registered

   A huge retail base and an interface built for first-timers, with UPI, IMPS and NEFT funding. Pro mode is cheap for makers, but instant buys cost far more, so the same coin can carry a tenfold difference in fees depending on which screen you use.

   • ~0.04% (Pro maker) to ~0.4% (instant)
   • Google Play 4.4★ · 10M+
   • 400+ coins (reported)
   8.4/10

   Official site ↗
3. ZebPayOne of India's oldest · FIU-IND registered

   The most transparent fee schedule we found: 0.45% at the regular tier, down to 0.03% for VIP7, free INR deposits and a Rs 15 INR withdrawal fee. Best suited to people who buy and hold rather than trade daily.

   • 0.45% regular tier (official)
   • INR withdrawal Rs 15
   • Google Play 4.6★
   8.2/10

   Official site ↗
4. MudrexSIPs · FIU-IND registered

   Built around crypto SIPs and ready-made "coin sets" for people who want to invest a fixed sum each month. Fees are reportedly around 0.25–0.45%, higher than order-book exchanges, in exchange for simplicity.

   • ~0.25–0.45% (reported)
   • Monthly SIPs
   • 650+ coins (reported)
   7.9/10

   Official site ↗
5. BinanceGlobal leader · registered after 2024 fine

   Fined Rs 18.82 crore by FIU-IND in June 2024, then registered. Liquidity and coin choice are unmatched, spot trading costs 0.1%, and Binance deducts 1% TDS on spot trades. The catch: there is no direct INR bank deposit, so rupees only come in through P2P, which is exactly where freeze risk lives.

   • Spot 0.10%
   • INR via P2P only
   • Google Play 4.6★ · 100M+
   7.8/10

   Official site ↗ Read →
6. CoinbaseUS-listed · INR back since May 2026

   Paused India in 2023, received only a warning from FIU-IND in March 2025, restarted crypto-to-crypto onboarding in late 2025 and launched INR deposits, withdrawals and spot trading in May 2026. A trusted brand, but India-specific fees and listings are still settling, so check the official page.

   • INR rails since May 2026
   • FIU-IND registered
   • Google Play 3.3★
   7.6/10

   Official site ↗ Read →
7. GiottusChennai · FIU-IND registered

   A long-running South Indian exchange with UPI and IMPS deposits and support in regional languages. Its fee page would not load when we checked, so confirm current costs on the site.

   • UPI · IMPS
   • Check fees on site
   • Smaller order books
   7.4/10

   Official site ↗
8. WazirXRelaunched October 2025

   Lost about $235M (roughly 45% of user funds) on 18 July 2024. The Singapore High Court sanctioned its restructuring on 13 October 2025, distributions of about 75–85% of claims began, and trading reopened on 24 October 2025 starting with USDT/INR. In our view it still has trust to rebuild.

   • $235M hack in 2024
   • Relaunched Oct 2025
   • Google Play 3.6★
   6.8/10

   Official site ↗

Except for ZebPay and Binance, fees come from press reports and could not be checked on official pages.

If you're looking at futures, Delta Exchange India (FIU-IND reg. no. VA00041101) is the main INR-settled crypto derivatives venue. Leveraged contracts can wipe out your deposit in minutes; read spot vs futures first.

Two big incidents: the WazirX hack and the CoinDCX loss

On 18 July 2024, attackers drained about $235M from a WazirX multisig wallet, roughly 45% of user funds. Investigators blamed North Korea's Lazarus Group. Withdrawals stayed frozen for over a year until the Singapore High Court sanctioned a restructuring scheme on 13 October 2025, backed by 95.7% of creditors by number. Payouts of about 75–85% of claims began that month, and trading resumed on 24 October 2025.

A year later, on 19 July 2025, CoinDCX lost about $44M from a hot wallet used for internal liquidity. This time the exchange said it absorbed the loss from company funds and customers were unaffected. The lesson from both: keep on an exchange only what you're actively trading and move long-term holdings to a wallet you control. More case studies in exchange safety.

05Best crypto app in India: UX scores

Most Indians buy their first coin on a phone. Based on each app's documented flow, we scored onboarding, mobile app, website and fee transparency (editorial ratings out of 5):

06UPI and IMPS deposits: why they sometimes fail

Domestic exchanges take rupees via UPI, IMPS, NEFT and RTGS. UPI is the most convenient and the most likely to bounce: some banks and UPI apps intermittently block exchange payees, so a route that works this week may fail the next. IMPS and NEFT tend to be steadier and suit larger amounts.

Practical tips: keep one bank account just for crypto, switch to IMPS if UPI fails, never pay a "collection" account outside the platform, and keep your bank receipts. For more on rails, see crypto payment methods by country and buying crypto by bank transfer.

07P2P USDT, frozen accounts and the CBI warning

Because Binance and other offshore platforms offer no direct INR bank deposit, many Indians buy USDT through P2P. When we looked at Binance's USDT/INR market on 1 October 2026, there were 972 ads on the buy side, mostly paid by UPI, IMPS or bank transfer. The best price was about Rs 102.8 per USDT against a mid-market rate near Rs 96, a premium of roughly 7%, which reflects TDS, tax and freeze risk.

Account freezes are the number one P2P problem in India. If money you received or sent is traced to a cyber-fraud complaint on the 1930 helpline or the NCRP portal, a police cyber cell can ask your bank to freeze or put a lien on the entire account, even over a small transfer. The Kerala High Court and others ruled in 2026 that a lien should cover only the disputed amount, but getting unfrozen often takes months.

If you do use P2P, stick to escrowed in-app trades, deal only with counterparties whose bank name matches their verified name, never accept third-party payments, and walk away from prices that look too good. Our general rules are in the P2P crypto guide.

08How to buy Bitcoin in India, step by step

1. Choose an FIU-IND registered platform

   Pick from the ranking above and confirm registration and current fees on the official site.

2. Complete KYC

   Have your PAN card and Aadhaar (or passport) ready for the selfie check. PAN is also needed for TDS.

3. Link your own bank account

   Use only an account in your name, deposit by UPI or IMPS, and keep the receipts.

4. Buy with a limit or Pro order

   Compare the instant-buy quote with the order book, and start with a small test purchase.

5. Withdraw to your own wallet

   Move long-term holdings to self-custody; send a small test amount first and double-check the network.

6. Keep records and file on time

   Download annual statements and your TDS credit (Form 26AS), then report in Schedule VDA of ITR-2 or ITR-3.

09Wallets and security

The most-used self-custody wallets in India are Trust Wallet (50M+ installs on Google Play) and MetaMask (10M+), with Phantom and Binance Wallet popular among DeFi users. Chainalysis ranked India first for DeFi in its 2025 index as well.

WazirX showed that when an exchange is hacked, you wait in a creditors' queue. For larger sums, consider a hardware wallet. Whatever you use, write your seed phrase on paper and never share it. More in our crypto wallet guide.

A final warning: MLM-style "investment trading" schemes keep surfacing. A 2026 case in Tamil Nadu reportedly involved around Rs 400 crore and some 40,000 complainants. Anything promising fixed daily returns or rewarding you for recruiting is a scam. For other markets, head back to our Asia country guides.

FAQ

Sources

• FIU-IND — compliance orders (Binance, KuCoin, Bybit, Coinbase) · checked Oct 2026
• FIU-IND — AML guidelines for VDA service providers (PDF) · checked Oct 2026
• Chainalysis — 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index · Sep 2025
• ZebPay — official fee schedule · checked Oct 2026
• CEX.IO — countries not currently supported · checked Oct 2026
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal · checked Oct 2026

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