Taiwanese crypto exchange suspends trading in Rupees after TDS laws kick in

• India’s new tax rules that collect 1% TDS on transfer of crypto and other virtual assets came into effect on July 1.
• Taiwanese crypto exchange XREX suspended INR trading on their platform on June 30.
• This neobank allows fiat-crypto trading and also supports trading crypto in US dollar and the Indian rupee.
• The platform advised the users to withdraw any INR balance, and offered them assistance.

Taiwanese crypto exchange XREX suspended INR trading on their platform on June 30, a day before the new crypto tax rules came in. This neobank, which also allows fiat-crypto trading, is the only one in the world that supports US dollar and the Indian rupee.

Now, it only offers USD and crypto-to-crypto trades. In a mail sent to its users, XREX also stated that all INR services will be temporarily suspended from July 31, following the new crypto regulations in India that came into effect on July 1 and intends to collect 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto trades.

“All INR open orders and pending INR Bitchecks will be automatically canceled on June 30, 2022 at 7:30 pm India and 10 pm Taipei time. All INR trading pairs would be unavailable on the new version. Please note that on July 31, 2022 all INR services would be temporarily removed and unavailable on the XREX platform. We are going to be converting the remaining INR funds in your wallet to USDT,” the company said in a communication to the users.

USDT, also known as Tether, is a cryptocurrency stablecoin meant to mirror the value of a stable asset like a US dollar. It is built on blockchain technology and follows global government laws and regulations.

The company also advised users to withdraw any INR balance they have on the platform. “You can still trade crypto to crypto freely. If you have less than 1000 INR, it will be auto converted to USDT on August 1,” said Naimish Sanghvi, a consultant with the exchange.

Taiwanese XREX exchange is known for its low transaction cost fees of 0.1%. It is also offering assistance to those who are keen on withdrawing their rupees.

“Hi everyone. If anyone has an INR balance on XREX @xrexinc - please ping me and I will help you withdraw to your account if you face any issues,” said Krishnendu Chatterjee, head of partnership at XREX, on Twitter.

Business Insider tried contacting the team at XREX for a response, but none was received until the article went into print.

A steep drop in crypto volumes

There has been a steep drop in Indian crypto exchange trading volume since the new tax rules kicked in April after the Indian finance minister slapped a 30% tax on cryptocurrencies, in January this year. Added to that, the 1% TDS on transfer of crypto and any virtual digital asset, came into effect this month.

Indian crypto trading volumes have plunged by 90-95% within three months after the new crypto laws were announced, according to Crypto India. It also said that exchanges are barely able to generate trading fee revenues in the range of $1000-3000. Crypto India is a popular Youtube channel run by Indian crypto influencer Aditya Singh.

This development also comes on the back of a depreciating Rupee which fell 12 paise on Thursday to 79.06 against the US dollar, as the chances of the US Federal Reserve going for another rate hike has increased.

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