Indian authorities have been cryptic in their stance on the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies, but when a tax was imposed on gains made on them, with a mandate for tax deduction at source (TDS), it was a matter of alignment with taxation law. Its impact has been heavy. Since the TDS rule came into effect on 1 July, cryptocurrency trading volumes have crashed across exchanges by as much as 80%. A drop was widely expected, but such a sharp one is remarkable.
