Are Indian crypto exchanges headed for massive layoffs? Insiders think so

Just like their global counterparts, Indian crypto exchanges are down with firing fever, beginning with Vauld cryptocurrency exchange.

The exchange reduced its headcount by 30 per cent, slashing jobs in the human resources and marketing department, an internal source told Business Today.

And this might just be the beginning of a firing frenzy at India’s crypto exchanges. Experts and commentators claim that because of the new tax laws, the current bear market, heightened regulations, and increased compliance costs, running a crypto exchange in India might not be as lucrative as it was before.

Smit Khakhkhar, Tech Diligence at Delta Blockchain Fund told Business Today, “Layoffs in crypto have just started.”

Khakhkhar highlighted, “Indian crypto ecosystem could see massive layoffs due to dip in revenues and loss of business due to regulatory compliance. The negative sentiment of the market is not helping either.”

The recent union budget introduced a flat 30 per cent tax on all crypto gains starting from April 1 and a one percent TDS on crypto transfers starting July 1. 

This move led to a steep decline in trading volumes across all KYC-compliant crypto exchanges in India, within just 10 days of the implementation of new tax laws. 

As per data from CREBACO, a crypto research firm, trading volumes fell over 70 per cent at WazirX exchange and around 60 per cent at CoinDCX exchange by April 10.

Moreover, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently introduced new compliance requirements, like the fact that Indian crypto exchanges would have to store KYC data of all customers for a period of 5 years.

Furthermore, the exchanges all got a stinker from the Advertising Standards Council of India about the aggressive advertising they engage in.

Kashif Raza, crypto commentator and founder of Bitinning told Business Today in an interaction, “All the new regulatory compliances have made running a crypto exchange in India a less lucrative business.”

Sharat Chandra, vice president of Research and Strategy at EarthID also stressed that the turmoil in crypto markets has also caused a freeze in funding. He told Business Today, "Funding winter too has added to the woes of crypto entrepreneurs. Layoffs, therefore, are happening across the crypto ecosystem."

Indian crypto exchanges are not the only crypto companies across the world trying to cut costs amid the economic downturn. Global crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini, Crypto.com, BitMex, and others have all let go of thousands of people.

Crypto exchanges in the Middle East, which were all set to pose as the oasis of crypto, are also losing ground. Top exchanges from the area like Rain Financial and BitOasis have also let go of people.

Business Today has reached out for comments on the same from other KYC compliant crypto exchanges in India. The copy will be updated as and when they respond.

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