On 2 July 2026, the RBI told a Parliamentary panel it still opposes giving crypto legal status — a position it has held since 2013. Nothing was voted on, nothing new was banned, and the 30% tax plus 1% TDS remain exactly as they were.
If you hold a little Bitcoin or Ethereum and a headline about "RBI vs crypto" crossed your feed this week, here's the calm version: nothing changed for you today. But it's worth understanding exactly what did happen, because sessions like this one are how India's crypto rules eventually do get written.
On 2 July 2026, Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance — chaired by MP Bhartruhari Mahtab — heard the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) as part of an ongoing study titled "Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) and the Way Forward." It was the RBI's first time presenting its views on crypto directly to this committee.
What the RBI actually said
The RBI reiterated the same caution it has held since December 2013: it does not support legal status for private crypto, citing risks to financial stability and monetary control. It reportedly also noted that its own Digital Rupee (e-₹) pilot is still adopting slowly compared with UPI. The ICAI, for its part, took a more open position — supporting a clearer, comprehensive VDA law and better reporting guidance for taxpayers.
Caution from a regulator isn't the same as a ban — and for crypto in India, it never has been.
Why this isn't a new law
It's important to be precise here: this was a consultation, not a verdict. The committee is still in its study phase, reportedly weighing three broad models used elsewhere — regulating crypto directly (like the US, UK, or EU), banning it outright (like China), or governing it through existing law (like Japan). A separate, still-unadopted proposal floating around Delhi would split oversight three ways: SEBI over exchanges and token-like assets, the RBI over cross-border flows, and the Finance Ministry over policy and tax. None of that was finalised on 2 July.
What this changes for you, practically
For an ordinary Indian holder, the practical takeaways are short. One: buying, holding, and trading crypto on a compliant, FIU-IND-registered platform is still legal — nothing here changes that. Two: the tax is unchanged — a flat 30% on gains plus 1% TDS, with no loss set-off. Three: reporting is getting stricter regardless of this hearing — exchanges now face penalties for incomplete transaction reporting, so the tax department sees more of your activity than before, making accurate filing more important, not less. If the basics of any of this are still new to you, our what is cryptocurrency lesson is a good starting point.
India has topped Chainalysis's Global Crypto Adoption Index for three consecutive years, with an estimated 119 million users in the country — so sessions like this one will keep making headlines. The sensible response is the same one we'd give for any regulatory news: don't trade the headline, and don't panic-sell over a consultation. For the fuller honest comparison of crypto against other options, see our note on crypto vs mutual funds in India.
Sources: Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance proceedings, 2 July 2026; RBI and ICAI testimony as reported across multiple financial news outlets; Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index; Income-tax Act 1961, Section 115BBH (30% VDA tax, 1% TDS under Section 194S).
