Survey: Over a Third of Indian Urban Residents Oppose Upcoming Crypto Bill

With the Indian government considering implementing a bill for its cryptocurrency industry, some urban dwellers have expressed displeasure over their upcoming plans to regulate the asset class.

In a recent survey published by popular market researcher YouGov, more than a third of India’s urban residents are not in support of the government’s upcoming cryptocurrency bill.

Respondents Fear Crypto Taxation

As much as 52% of the 1,225 people who participated in the survey declared that they own cryptocurrencies. YouGov noted that 36% of the total participants strongly oppose the government’s intention to regulate crypto assets, while 35% of the respondents do not support nor oppose the upcoming bill.

The concern for the majority of people who objected to the upcoming regulation is that should the bill be approved, the government may levy a heavy tax on gains made from trading the asset class.

While a large set of the respondents, representing 26% of the survey participants, feared that the government could proceed to place an outright ban on non-exchange traded cryptocurrencies.

On the other hand, another group of the respondents, of about 23%, indicated that they may lose all the money invested in cryptocurrencies following the regulation.

The Way Forward

Should the cryptocurrency bill become official, 51% of people who own cryptocurrencies said they will wait for the market to stabilize before choosing the next line of action to take.

26% said they will continue to increase their investment in cryptocurrencies regardless of the outcome of the bill, while 16% said they will stop investing in crypto assets and sell off their current holdings to prevent incurring losses as a result of the regulation.

India’s Upcoming Crypto Regulation

India’s upcoming cryptocurrency regulation has been in the news since last year, with many proposals flooding the internet.

Some sources disclosed in November 2021 that the government would not place an outright ban on cryptocurrencies, instead, they would be treated as assets and not to facilitate payment for goods and services.

For now, the crypto industry is anxiously awaiting details of an official proposal, with enthusiasts hoping that the bill will be in favor of Indians, given that India is considered as one of the countries with the largest crypto adoption rate.