Crypto exchanges look at institutional investors, college students as volumes fall

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Cryptocurrency exchanges are hoping to rope in large institutional investors on one hand and trying to get college students to explore blockchain deals on the other to stem the drastic drop in daily trading volumes after India introduced tax on virtual digital assets. Many investors and traders are shunning crypto assets as profits will attract 30% tax from April 1. Not just the recent announcement of disallowing set-off would result in loss for most investors, shrinking risk appetite. All exchanges in India have seen a drop of at least 50% in the last few days compared to the trading volumes last year. This also comes at a time when exchanges are grappling with how exactly to compute the 1% tax deducted at source on each transaction.

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Exchanges hope that institutional investors would be more open to investing in crypto assets as introduction of tax also confers legitimacy for cryptocurrency. “We are moving to work on the traction seen from institutional investors and we’re also set to go aggressive on educational initiatives based on crypto and blockchain to empower and penetrate deeper into the active crypto ecosystem,” said Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange. Daily volumes are important for the exchanges as it’s often used as a barometer for valuation during investment rounds, say industry trackers. Many exchanges are hoping the lull period is intensified due to the downward trend in top cryptocurrencies. “The trading volume was the highest on March 31 as users/ investors squared off their positions before the start of the new financial year.