Cryptocurrency Trading

Published on 13 Oct 2025

• National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) recently dismissed a lawsuit by Indian cryptocurrency investors against a cryptocurrency exchange.

• Cryptocurrencies or virtual digital assets” (VDA) are digital or virtual currencies secured by cryptography, making them resistant to counterfeiting. 

• They operate on decentralised networks using blockchain technology, which functions as a distributed ledger maintained across multiple computers.

• While cryptocurrencies or its trading is not illegal in India, they are not recognised as legal tender to be used as currencies.

• In the present case, many investors lost money when a cryptocurrency exchange named WazirX faced a cyber attack.

• When millions of dollars worth cryptocurrencies were illegally withdrawn from the exchange in 2018, the investors took the case to NCDRC.

• NCDRC, however, ruled that cryptocurrencies in India cannot be considered as a “good” under Consumer protection Act and hence it cannot take up the case.

• It observed that RBI neither regulated cryptocurrencies nor its exchanges.

• NCDRC also observed that cryptocurrencies come within the definition of property under the Income Tax Act (and taxed at a rate of 30% since April 2022).

• The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) is the top consumer court in India, set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act. It handles consumer complaints involving claims of ₹2 crore or more, hears appeals from State Commissions, and is headed by a former Supreme Court judge

Keywords:

Cryptocurrency Trading Cryptocurrency National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission NCDRC virtual digital asset VDA blockchain technology legal tender WazirX cyber-attack Consumer protection Act RBI Income Tax Act Ministry of finance Encry