Is crypto legal in India?

Not legal advice. Below are the regulators’ own words, quoted from their official pages on the dates shown. Laws and rules change: check the regulator’s site before you open an account.

By Wealth.cat editorial team Facts verified on October 18, 2026

In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued public statements on virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, and the Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) has issued anti-money-laundering guidelines for providers of services related to virtual digital assets.

The quotes below come from four official documents, oldest first:

an RBI press release of 24 December 2013 on the risks of virtual currencies, which says that their creation, trading or usage as a medium for payment is not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority;
an RBI press release of 1 February 2017, which says the RBI has not given any licence or authorisation to deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency;
an RBI circular of 31 May 2021 to banks and other regulated entities, which says that its circular of 6 April 2018 on virtual currencies was set aside by the Supreme Court on 4 March 2020 and can no longer be cited;
the FIU-IND guidelines for reporting entities providing services related to virtual digital assets, in effect from 10 March 2023, which require these service providers to register with FIU-IND as reporting entities.

The quotes are in their original language, English, and carry the dates of the documents they come from. FIU-IND has published an updated version of its guidelines dated 8 January 2026 as a scanned document, which is not quoted here.

What the regulator says

The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) · October 18, 2026 · Source
The Reserve Bank of India advises that it has not given any licence / authorisation to any entity / company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency. As such, any user, holder, investor, trader, etc. dealing with Virtual Currencies will be doing so at their own risk.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) · October 18, 2026 · Source
Such references to the above circular by banks/ regulated entities are not in order as this circular was set aside by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on March 04, 2020 in the matter of Writ Petition (Civil) No.528 of 2018 (Internet and Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank of India). As such, in view of the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the circular is no longer valid from the date of the Supreme Court judgement, and therefore cannot be cited or quoted from.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) · October 18, 2026 · Source
In terms of Rule 2 (wa) read with Rule 2 (sa) of PMLA, all SPs are required to register as Reporting Entities with FIU-IND.

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) · October 18, 2026 · Source

What this means on Wealth.cat

We do not show offers from crypto exchanges to visitors from India.

This is our own advertising policy, not a statement about what the law allows.

Is crypto legal in India?

What the regulator says

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