Ashish Singhal News

With wars come worries and uncertainty and that is exactly what has been visible in how global markets have been reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Stock markets plunged in trade on February 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation, and cryptocurrencies were not spared from the aftermath.

The crypto industry has welcomed the new set of guidelines released by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for advertising virtual digital assets on February 23. Late last year, the industry had faced flak from the government and was criticised for misleading advertisements across print medium, television and social networks.

crypto traders turned defensive as tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensified. Following this, the appetite for riskier assets, including the digital token, dropped sharply. Investors now looked for safe heaven bets like gold, dampening the sentiments further. Barring the dollar-pegged Tether, all other top digital tokens were trading in deep red on Friday. Avalanche and Terra dropped 9 per cent each followed by Bitcoin and Ethereum, each losing over 7 per cent.

Indian crypto-asset exchange platform WazirX witnessed a 30% jump in its daily sign-ups since the country decided to impose a 30% tax on profits from cryptocurrency trading, according to co-founder Nischal Shetty.

digital-asset exchanges. Binance-owned WazirX, India’s largest crypto bourse, has seen daily sign-ups on its platform jump almost 30% since Feb. 1, when the government unveiled the levy on the transfer of digital assets in its annual budget, said co-founder Nischal Shetty. At rival CoinSwitch, the daily increase was 35%, according to founder Ashish Singhal. While it might seem counterintuitive that a steep tax would cause people to flock to digital tokens, the step was seen as legitimizing an industry that’s been in regulatory limbo amid fierce resistance from India’s central bank. Shetty said he expects some 100 million people in the country to start investing in crypto in the next two to three years.

crypto community, in reaction to central bank governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that private cryptocurrencies are a big threat to India's financial and macroeconomic stability, has said crypto assets could help unlock the country's innovation, job-creation and economic potential. Also, the exchanges said they praised the stance of the central bank and the government that customer protection is a priority. «The good thing is that the government and regulators have been very consultative in their approach to the industry, and there is broad understanding that customer protection is of utmost importance. It is encouraging to see India thinking progressively about crypto at par with global counterparts like the US, Dubai, and Singapore,» said Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO, CoinSwitch.

tax virtual digital assets at 30% in the Union Budget has encouraged the crypto industry players to come out with financial products on the asset. Crypto exchange CoinSwitch on Monday launched a recurring buy plan (RBP) (RBP) — a systematic investment plan (SIP) to buy crypto assets in India. Users can sign up through a waitlist to get early access to explore this new feature, the company said. With this, the startup wants users to beat market volatility and avoid making impulsive buying or selling decisions. Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, said that the plan is for people who take a more systematic and long-term approach to buying crypto assets and is not really meant as a product for traders. “We are still reading the Budget fine print. Our initial understanding is that the 1% TDS will usually impact frequent traders who operate on smaller margins,” he said.“The plan will allow long-term investors to invest systematically and avoid the impulse to time the market and make emotional trading decisions, and will also empower users with a lower risk profile to explore this new asset class,” he added. Tax experts TOI spoke to said that though the Budget is silent on products such as crypto RBPs, the taxation will likely be along the same lines as SIPs, which are taxed on withdrawal.

Crypto investing app CoinSwitch has launched recurring buy plan (RBP), a systematic way to buy crypto assets in India, as part of its mission to make money equal for all. The company aims to enable users to beat market volatility and avoid making impulsive buying or selling decisions. Users can now sign up through a waitlist to get early access to explore this new feature, the company said. CoinSwitch is India's largest crypto company, catering to primarily retail investors.

The crypto industry is having mixed sentiments after the finance minister announced a 30 percent tax on income from cryptos and other virtual assets. In a panel discussion held by Moneycontrol, the experts welcomed the move but raised a number of concerns on its impact on the industry.

crypto exchanges and trading platforms cheered the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the taxation of virtual assets in Union Budget 2022. The Finance Minister announced taxation on gains arising from the sale of virtual assets at a flat rate of 30 per cent in her Budget speech, without any deductions to be allowed on these gains. The government also laid out the detailed provision over tax deducted at source (TDS) at a rate of 1 per cent levied on payments made on transfer of digital assets. Ashish Singhal, Founder and CEO, CoinSwitch and Co-chair Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) said, we welcome the government's decision to introduce central bank digital currency (CBDC) to accelerate digitization.

crypto market has wiped out about $1 trillion of investors' wealth. Bitcoin has dropped about 50 per cent of its value from the peak, whereas other altcoins including Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Fantom, Near Protocol have lost about two-third of their value in the latest round of correction. Commenting on the crypto carnage, Ashish Singhal, Founder & CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, India's largest crypto platform, said the current trends are a reflection of swings in global financial markets and news of regulatory proposals globally. Several early investors in crypto have also been booking profits, he said in a series of tweets.

Coinswitch Kuber, will diversify into a wealth tech startup that deals in Indian and US stocks, mutual funds, fixed deposits and bonds in a bid to offer its over 15 million users multiple investment avenues, its founder told ET. In short, Coinswitch wants to be a one-stop shop for all things investment, according to Ashish Singhal, the company's chief executive.

Local media reports noted that Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) in India will include crypto ads as part of its “standardized self-regulation.”

CoinSwitch Kuber, India's largest and the most-valued crypto unicorn (in terms of user base), has appointed Ashish Chandra as the General Counsel. Chandra will play a pivotal role in building a conducive legal framework for the business as crypto-asset adoption continues to grow amidst the mainstreaming excitement. Chandra has over 20 years of experience across internet and tech giants, including WhatsApp India, Netflix and eBay.

Cryptocurrencies provide India an opportunity to turn into a net exporter from a net importer of technology, according to Ashish Singhal, Founder and CEO of crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber.