Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, co-founders Nischal Shetty and Siddharth Menon have reportedly shifted to Dubai from India, according to news reports. Moreover, it is being reported that they have shifted their bases into the Middle East.
It is being speculated that it could be a result of India imposing a 30 per cent tax on virtual digital assets in addition to a 1 per cent tax deductible at the source which in turn negatively affected the trading volume in Crypto exchanges. Shetty and Menon have moved out of India with their families to Dubai although WazirX still has an office in Mumbai and Bengaluru, sources with knowledge of the direct matter have told Business Today.
Sameer Mhatre, a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at WazirX, however, continues to operate from India, one of the sources said. Currently, the entire workforce at WazirX is working remotely.
For those unaware, it was announced in February by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that moving forward, cryptocurrencies will be taxable. It will fall under a 30 percent tax slab on any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets.
Shetty has been vocal with his opinions on Twitter about the move as he believes it will impact the homegrown players and lead to a wealth drain from the country. Dubai is becoming a new hotspot for all the Crypto influencers, traders, since there are no income tax provisions in the region and the government, has formed a regulatory body for trading in virtual digital assets.