Policy

Independent, evidence-based positions for policymakers.

What we stand for, and the research behind it. We engage government directly, with rigorous, independent analysis.

The problem, in numbers

A few facts that frame why India’s Bitcoin policy matters. Every figure is sourced.

No. 1

India's rank for grassroots crypto adoption — first in the world, three years running (2023–2025). Bitcoin is the single largest crypto asset, yet India's rules still lump it in with every other token.

Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index (2023–2025)

30% + 1% TDS

A flat 30% tax on gains from virtual digital assets, plus a 1% TDS on transfers, with no set-off or carry-forward of losses — retained unchanged in Budget 2026.

Finance Act 2022; Union Budget 2026 (§115BBH, §194S)

₹1,096 cr

TDS collected on VDA transfers over three years (FY2022-23 to FY2024-25) — the government's own measure of a real, taxable market. Bitcoin is the single largest asset within it, yet the rules treat every token alike.

Ministry of Finance, reply in Parliament (Dec 2025)

~$135 billion

India is the world's largest recipient of remittances (FY2024-25), typically at fees of 5–7% — exactly where low-cost, borderless rails matter most.

RBI; World Bank

Fundamental right

Privacy is a fundamental right in India — a constitutional anchor for financial privacy and the right to hold your own assets.

Supreme Court, K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017)

8,133 GWh

Solar power curtailed across India in a single quarter (April–June 2026) — stranded, interruptible energy that flexible Bitcoin mining could put to use rather than see wasted. Curtailment today is concentrated in solar as grid build-out lags new capacity.

Grid-India; MNRE reply to Parliament (2026)

Where we focus

Our agenda spans three layers — protection, enablement, and infrastructure — grounded in what India’s Bitcoin policy actually needs, not a single issue.

Protection

Grounding the rights and safeguards citizens need.

Legal clarity & self-custody

Holding Bitcoin is legal but ungrounded — no dedicated law since the 2021 bill was shelved. The right to hold and self-custody your own Bitcoin, securely and lawfully, deserves clear recognition.

Retail protection & education

Helping ordinary people take part safely — starting with plain, honest education on what self-custody is, what it means, and how to do it responsibly.

Enablement

Removing the barriers to responsible participation.

Clear classification

India lumps Bitcoin with every token under one Virtual Digital Asset definition (2022). Classification must precede sensible regulation.

Fair taxation

A flat 30% plus a 1% TDS, with no loss set-off, taxes Bitcoin like speculation — and drove trading to platforms outside India. It needs rationalising.

Institutional adoption

Treasury, fund, and balance-sheet pathways for Bitcoin, where appropriate.

Infrastructure & strategy

The foundations, and the long-horizon questions.

Mining & energy

Frameworks for the role Bitcoin mining could play in India's grid and power context.

Custody & service providers

Standards for safe, compliant custody, security, and the providers a healthy ecosystem needs.

Strategic reserve — research

A long-horizon question we study: what a measured, sovereign Bitcoin allocation could add to India's resilience and optionality.

Our research & briefs

A small, specific body of India-first research and briefs behind our positions.

An Accounting Standards Framework for Virtual Digital Assets in India

How VDAs should be classified and measured in financial statements — for the Ministry of Finance, MCA, NFRA and ICAI. Bitcoin as a distinct non-financial asset class, fair-valued through profit and loss, drawing on the US (FASB), Japan (ASBJ) and IFRS experience.

Policy brief · draft, 2026

Read the takeaways

A Functional Taxonomy for Digital Assets in India

A four-pillar, risk-based classification — decentralised cryptocommodities (Bitcoin), tokenised securities, stablecoins, and utility tokens — on the principle that classification must precede regulation.

Presented · GNLU stakeholder consultation, Nov 2025

Read the takeaways

Regulator Mapping for Digital Asset Categories

Which Indian regulator should oversee which kind of digital asset — mapping Bitcoin to commodity-style oversight (MoF/DEA, FIU-IND) rather than SEBI or RBI.

Presented · GNLU stakeholder consultation, Nov 2025

Read the takeaways

The Sovereign Mining Initiative

How India's surplus and curtailed renewable energy — solar, wind, hydro — can be turned into economic value through flexible, interruptible Bitcoin mining, with global precedents from Bhutan, Ethiopia and Texas.

Research paper · Sunil Kumar

Read the takeaways

Sovereign Energy Monetization for India

A working paper proposing a limited government pilot to test whether stranded energy — renewable curtailment, hydro spillage and gas flaring — can be monetised through flexible, containerised computing deployed at the source. The objective is infrastructure efficiency, not speculation.

Working paper · Anooj

Read the takeaways

Full documents are shared directly with the institutions they’re for. To request one, get in touch.

Where we engage

We engage serious institutions across India — academic, industry, and policy — through consultations and direct discussion.

  • Academic institutions
  • Industry consultations
  • Think tanks

The principles that guide us

  1. 01India-first
  2. 02Consumer protection
  3. 03Technological neutrality
  4. 04Deep research
  5. 05Independence
  6. 06Evidence over ideology

References we build on

Independent, third-party research that informs our work. These are not BPI publications.