CoinSwitch Kuber and WazirX, two major crypto exchanges in India, have stopped rupee deposits for the purchase of cryptocurrencies via UPI, a widely used state-backed transfer network, prompting consumers to renew their calls for regulatory clarity.
India has spent years working on a bill to ban or regulate cryptocurrencies, with the central bank backing a ban due to threats to financial stability, however, the government’s recent move to tax cryptocurrency income signals approval.
The efforts come after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of the state-backed United Payments Interface (UPI), which facilitates bank transfers, said last week that it was unaware of its use by any crypto exchange in a one-line statement.
Users could not load deposits into CoinSwitch’s app, but they could still withdraw money.
WazirX took to Twitter to announce to its followers that “UPI is not available,” adding that it has no anticipated time to fix the problem. WazirX claimed in a statement that their UPI deposit function was suspended in December, but declined to elaborate.
Users were alarmed when the firm said on April 1 that rupee deposits via popular payments app MobiKwik, too, will be disabled “until further notice.”
Watcher Guru had previously reported on CoinSwitch’s abrupt discontinuation of Rupee deposits via UPI. The Watcher team had reached out to CoinSwitch and WazirX, but both the firms refused to comment on the development.
Authorities in India against crypto?
India said in February that revenue from cryptocurrencies and other digital assets will be taxed at 30%, signaling that the government welcomed digital currencies, but the business has been hampered by regulatory ambiguity.
Indian investors have been shackled because all sources of payment have been disabled. This demonstrated how both the government and fiat played a significant impact in the fate of crypto.
In addition, the cryptocurrency sector emerged to liberate people from centralized systems. India wanted to reap the rewards of its citizens’ sowing as other nations were slowly embracing it. The most recent news highlighted India’s dominance over the cryptocurrency business.
The country’s trade volume has already decreased by 72% since the beginning of this month as a result of the updated crypto tax law.