India's taxes on crypto transactions may 'kill the industry': Binance CEO

Binance Holding CEO Zhao "CZ" Changpeng said India's onerous taxes on cryptocurrency transactions will probably "kill the industry"

Binance Holding Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Zhao “CZ” Changpeng said India’s onerous taxes on cryptocurrency transactions will probably “kill the industry” there. 

“India has high tax which is probably going to kill the industry,” Zhao said in livestreamed remarks during panel at a fintech conference in Singapore on Thursday. 

Zhao’s comments add to a litany of warnings on the outlook for India’s crypto industry, after the government this year introduced a tax package that’s caused trading volumes to evaporate. Instead of introducing comprehensive regulations, India has opted for heavy taxes on capital gains and transactions to curtail the business. 

ZebPay, one of India’s oldest crypto exchanges, is looking overseas for growth, CEO Avinash Shekhar said last month, adding that the 1% transaction tax “has to come down, otherwise things are not going to improve.”