Cryptocurrencies are soon going to be taxed in the same way the government taxes lottery winnings. The decision was made public during the Budget 2022 speech. The new tax regime is worrying investors and the deadline to either stay put and pay a 30 percent tax or withdraw is close. The Indian govt will be implementing this new tax regime from April 1. Also Read – Australia sues Facebook-owner Meta over cryptocurrency scam

What is the new Crypto Tax?

Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Tether, Cardano, Shiba Inu, and Dogecoin fall in the same category for the govt. Any gains made from investing in any kind of private cryptocurrency will attract a tax of 30 percent. Also Read – After Tesla, now these movie theatres are accepting Doge cryptocurrency payments

For instance, if you invest Rs 1000 and eventually make gains of Rs 100 on the investment. Your Rs 100 gains will be treated as earnings and they will be taxed at 30 percent. The investor will end up with just Rs 70. Additionally, if you earn a profit in one currency and register a loss in another, you won’t be able to offset the losses with the gains. In fact, you’ll be completely taxed on the gains. Also Read – Tesla starts accepting Dogecoin for charging: But its only at one Supercharger station

This change in the crypto investment ecosystem is worrying existing and future investors. In order to provide some guidance, BGR.in spoke with CoFounder RealX and GREX, Manish Kumar, about the upcoming changes and the options investors should be looking at.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is an extremely volatile asset class and readers should do their due diligence before putting their hard-earned money in the relatively new ecosystem. 

Future Crypto Investments

Explaining his view on future crypto investments, Kumar said, “It is now time to begin doing some fundamental research behind Crypto before investing. Investors must look at Cryptos that are not purely speculative but those that are associated with a purpose or project. The Crypto world is open, with many opportunities of this kind. investors must factor in the 45% effective tax on their return when they decide on their investments. So, essentially the bar on investment has risen requiring better diligence in choosing the Cryptos the investors put their money in.”

Existing Crypto Investors

For existing investors, Kumar believes that they should re-analyse their crypto portfolio. He saidm, “While a blanket withdrawal isn’t recommended, I think investors need to review their current investment portfolio to check if the Crypto is still worth staying invested. Given that now exit will cost them 45% of the gains as tax, do they feel the gain is enough for them to continue or should they exit and invest elsewhere?”