Cryptocurrency

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government clearly defined VDAs such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs under the Income Tax Act for the first time

The Government has set up a task force on darknet and cryptocurrency under the multi-agency centre (MAC) to monitor platforms facilitating narco-trafficking, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In a written response, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the Government has taken various steps for inter-agency coordination between the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), state anti-narcotics task forces (ANTFs) and border guarding forces to curb cross-border and inter-state drug smuggling. Listing out the steps, Rai said the task force has been set up under the MAC mechanism with a focus on monitoring platforms facilitating narco-trafficking, sharing of inputs on drug smuggling amongst agencies/MAC members, interception of drug networks, continuous capturing of trends, modus operandi and nodes with regular database updates and review of related rules and laws. In addition, a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) has also been set up at the central and state levels to oversee .

Extreme volatility is nothing new to cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin's slump from a peak of $126,000 in October last year comes despite the backdrop of a crypto-friendly White House and surging adoption

Cryptocurrencies have been on shaky ground ever since a brutal series of liquidations in October that sapped market confidence

The data will be shared under the OECD-led Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, enabling automatic exchange of crypto transaction details between tax authorities

Contracts on Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, now imply an 82% chance that Bitcoin will fall to $65,000 this year, a level roughly 13% lower than today's $73,200

For more than a year, the golden statue has been at the centre of one of the stranger moneymaking ventures of the Trump era

Known as CMLNs, these networks laundered $16.1 billion via cryptocurrency in 2025 and accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the global illicit crypto market last year

The Union Budget 2026-27 proposes a penalty framework for crypto-asset reporting, including daily fines for non-filing and a flat ₹50,000 penalty for inaccurate disclosures, effective April 1, 2026

What began as a sharp crash in October has morphed into something more corrosive: a selloff shaped not by panic, but by absence of buyers

Union Budget 2026 introduces daily and lump-sum penalties for lapses in crypto asset reporting, aiming to bring virtual digital assets firmly within the formal tax compliance framework

The Finance Bill introduces penalties for delayed or inaccurate crypto transaction reporting, including a ₹200-per-day fine and a ₹50,000 penalty for uncorrected errors

The survey said that the outflow of capital, including with the advent of stablecoins, is a risk to watch out for

The survey, conducted ahead of the 2026 Union Budget, gathered insights from close to 5,000 respondents, highlighting widespread discontent over the current taxation framework

The downturn followed broader weakness in global equities after renewed trade tensions between the US and Europe, triggered by President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats

Trump said over the weekend that he would impose a 10 per cent tariff on goods from 8 European nations starting Feb 1, rising to 25 per cent in June unless there's a deal for a 'purchase of Greenland'

In December 2025, Pakistan allowed global exchanges Binance and HTX to receive preliminary approvals as the government accelerates crypto adoption

These acquisitions come at a time of a favourable regulatory environment for the sector in the United States (US), with further plans to scale in markets where regulations are favourable

Crypto may promise big gains, but weak enforceability, custody risks and fading returns make it a high-risk bet best suited only for "mad money", not long-term goals

Selfie with liveness detection, recording of geographical coordinates, and verification of bank account by the 'penny-drop' method are among the mandatory new measures listed by India's financial intelligence agency under the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing KYC protocols for cryptocurrency exchanges while onboarding users. The directives also discourage Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Initial Token Offerings (ITOs), equivalent to IPOs in stock markets, by the exchanges. They say that tumblers, mixers, and anonymity-enhancing tokens-linked transactions shall "not" be facilitated. PTI has reviewed the updated set of guidelines brought out by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a body that functions under the Union Finance Ministry, on January 8 as part of the 'anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terror (CFT) guidelines for reporting entities providing services related to virtual digital assets (cryptocurrency).' The guidelines have been updated .