99Bitcoins Exclusive: Nischal Shetty Says, “Blockchain YES, Crypto NO Approach Will Lead To Crypto Innovation Moving Away From India”

In an exclusive chat with 99Bitcoins.com, Nischal Shetty, Shardeum Co-Founder, and the man behind India’s largest crypto exchange WazirX, talks about navigating the country’s “Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” approach.”

Indian member of Parliament, Raghav Chadha recently pushed for a National Blockchain Property Register to make land records tamper-proof. The Rajya Sabha MP  cited examples from Sweden, the UAE and Georgia, saying blockchain adoption could streamline property transactions

Is this the specific use case that finally drives mass adoption in India 

Land records on blockchain could be highly impactful, but it’s unlikely to be the trigger for mass crypto adoption. Systems like document verification, telecom DLT, and DigiLocker integrations demonstrate that adoption can reach population scale without citizens ever interacting with tokens.

The significance of blockchain in land records is therefore institutional, not retail-driven. If implemented well, it strengthens trust, reduces disputes, and improves administrative efficiency. India’s adoption story may not look like a surge in crypto usage, but the quiet embedding of blockchain into governance systems, which is arguably the more durable form of adoption.

In Parliament, I explained why India must put land & property records on BLOCKCHAIN.

Land records in India are in utter chaos. Ordinary citizens are made to run from pillar to post at registrar offices, while dalals and middlemen capture the system. Circle rates are exploited to… pic.twitter.com/zeI4KzL0mz

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) February 10, 2026

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“There’s a lot of opportunities for crypto in India despite the current harsh tax regime,” Says Nischal Shetty 

The 30% crypto tax remains, plus a new $545 penalty for missed reports. Is the government trying to regulate the sector, or just slowly suffocate it?

“The policy signal appears rooted in risk control,” Says Nischal Shetty

While 1% TDS and no loss offset for income tax is detrimental to the industry and pushes everyone to offshore exchanges, the penalty for missed reports should be seen as a progressive step towards a regulatory framework.

Politicians want blockchain for governance but tax the assets to death. Can India actually succeed with this ‘Blockchain YES, Crypto NO’ approach? 

The “Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” approach will lead to crypto innovation moving offshore. Blockchain only uses cases that work for Government and B2B use cases but you cannot have B2C use cases without crypto. India should encourage B2C use cases which will help create a large startup ecosystem in the country and add to increasing the size of our economy.

“Blockchain YES, Crypto NO” approach will lead to crypto innovation moving offshore, 

Given the hostile tax and penalty environment in this budget, is it still viable to build in India, or is moving offshore the only option?

I definitely think there’s a lot of opportunities for crypto in India despite the current harsh tax regime around crypto in the country. Over time I do wish to see the Government doing away with TDS or reducing it to 0.01%. The Indian ecosystem has always learned to adapt and grow and I believe we will see the same in the Crypto ecosystem as well.

A ₹100 crore Bitcoin scam was just exposed. How can legitimate exchanges prove they are safe without inviting even harsher government oversight? 

Dealing with FIU registered entities helps reduce this fear for customers to a large extent. Exchanges like WazirX, Pi42, Zebpay etc are FIU registered and that brings legitimacy. They also have to follow KYC and AML guidelines. The recent January 8 FIU guidelines in India are even more comprehensive and bring about greater emphasis on compliance. It’s important for everyone in the Indian crypt industry to be aware about these guidelines and deal with entities that are FIU registered. Besides, doing background checks on the teams behind the products you use also helps avoid falling for such scams to a large extent.

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