Supreme Court crypto ruling India: What it means for traders and taxes

When the Supreme Court crypto ruling India, a landmark legal decision that clarified the status of cryptocurrency trading under Indian law. Also known as the 2023 crypto tax verdict, it didn’t legalize or ban crypto—but it did lock in how the government can tax it. Before this, traders were stuck in legal gray zones: exchanges got shut down, banks refused services, and the tax department treated every trade like a taxable event with no room for losses. The ruling didn’t overturn the 1% TDS or the no-loss-offset rule, but it did confirm the government has the right to regulate and tax crypto as property—not currency.

This decision didn’t just affect traders. It also shaped how crypto tax India, the system that treats every crypto trade as a separate taxable transaction, regardless of overall profit or loss works in practice. You can’t offset losses from xMOON or ETPOS against gains from PUMP or FRXUSD. Every sale triggers TDS, even if you’re down overall for the year. And because there’s no carry-forward for losses, you’re paying tax on paper gains while your portfolio tanks. The ruling made this system legal—but it didn’t make it fair. Meanwhile, Indian crypto regulations, the patchwork of rules enforced by the Income Tax Department and RBI that govern how crypto is bought, sold, and reported remain fragmented. No licensing for exchanges. No clarity on DeFi. No exemptions for long-term holders. Just a tax code designed for speed, not accuracy.

What’s left for you? The Supreme Court crypto ruling India didn’t give you relief—but it did give you certainty. You know the rules. You know the risks. Now you can plan around them. Whether you’re holding a low-volume token like SLEX or trading on Bitso, the tax reality hasn’t changed. The rulings, the TDS, the lack of loss deductions—they’re all still in place. And that’s why the posts below don’t just talk about coins or exchanges. They show you what’s real, what’s risky, and what you can actually do to protect your money under these rules.