By taxing profits and transactions in cryptocurrencies, and letting banks service crypto exchanges and traders, but not bringing the industry under a legislative framework, the Government has pushed exchanges to shift base out of India, and exposed nearly 120 million investors to frauds and financial risks in an unregulated marketplace.

No less than the Supreme Court has taken note of the perils of such policy uncertainty to stakeholders in the virtual digital assets (VDA) industry. Making an observation in an ongoing case in May, the top court asked the Government to formulate a “clear cut” policy on virtual currency. “Trading in Bitcoin in India is like dealing with a refined way of hawala business… there are no regulations at present,” it said.

In fact, it was the Supreme Court that g

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