Bybit Slaps Indian Traders with 18% GST on Crypto Services – A Costly New Hurdle
Bybit just dropped a tax bomb on its Indian users—adding an 18% GST charge to all crypto transactions. The move comes as regulators globally tighten the screws on digital assets, but India’s steep levy feels like a targeted squeeze.
Active traders, brace yourselves: your arbitrage margins just got thinner. The exchange hasn’t clarified whether this applies to spot, derivatives, or both—classic opacity in crypto’s favorite grey zone.
Meanwhile, DeFi protocols quietly siphon users with their 'no-KYC, no-tax' pitch. Another case of centralized platforms playing tax collector while decentralized alternatives laugh all the way to the blockchain.
What Gets Taxed?
- Spot, Margin, and Derivatives Trading: GST on fees and order costs. Margins will reflect it, too.
- Fiat Transactions: Buying crypto via bank or card? GST is charged on the spread.
- Withdrawals: Even recovering wrong deposits (missing memo/tag)? You’ll pay GST on the withdrawal fee.
- Staking/Earn Products: Service fee gets taxed.
- Bybit Pay & OTC: Spread-based GST. No exceptions.
Users will see GST amounts clearly listed in their transaction breakdowns. It’s automatic. No manual entry or selection.
What’s Going Away?
Some products will no longer be available for Indian users starting July 9, 2025, at 8:00 UTC. That includes:
- Legacy Crypto Loans: Users have until July 17 to clear their dues. After that, any pending loan will be automatically repaid using available funds.
- Bybit Card: New card applications will be blocked starting July 9. Existing cards will stop working from July 17 and will be fully deactivated.
- All Trading Bots: Spot Grid, DCA, Futures Grid, Martingale, Combo — all will be shut down on July 9.
This isn’t a partial rollout. These changes affect every Indian resident using Bybit, no matter the account type or balance.
The move is clearly aimed at keeping the platform in line with India’s tightening stance on crypto taxation, where both TDS and now GST are mandatory on most crypto-related services.
For users, it’s another reminder that trading in India isn’t tax-free anymore. Not even close.
Also Read: CoinSwitch Unveils 1 Lakh Web3 Tokens for INR Trading
