Since being introduced less than a year ago, crypto perpetual futures have taken over the lion’s share of trading volume on Indian exchanges like CoinSwitch, CoinDCX, Mudrex, Giottus, and Delta Exchange. These contracts account for nearly 70–80% of total trading volumes, a significant shift from traditional spot market activity .
2. Why This Shift? Key Driving Forces
High Leverage Appeal: Platforms like Mudrex offer users leverage up to 25× or even 100×, enabling larger exposure with modest investment . In fact, futures trading on Mudrex generates 4–5× the volume compared to its spot counterpart .
Cheaper Trades & Broader Directional Visibility: Futures offer lower fees, INR-based settlements, and the flexibility to take both long and short positions across a broader token universe than spot markets .
Social Influence & Momentum: Influencers from the equity F&O space, along with big traders, have migrated to crypto futures. Their large follower bases and promotional incentives—ranging from foreign trips to other perks—have boosted adoption rates.
3. Tax Advantages — A Bigger Reason Than You May Think
Unlike spot trading, which attracts a flat 30% tax on profits, 1% TDS on trades, and no ability to offset losses (plus GST and cess), crypto futures—especially INR-settled ones—are not categorized as Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) and thus avoid these constraints .
Instead, futures profits are treated as business income, taxed at slab rates—allowing:
Loss offsetting
No TDS
Lower effective tax burden, especially with presumptive taxation under Section 44AD for smaller turnover traders .
4. Industry Response & Innovation
New INR‑margin Models: Platforms like Pi42 are leaning into this regulatory advantage by offering INR‑settled perpetual futures to simplify taxes and retain trading within India, reducing dependence on offshore platforms .
Competitive Fee Structures: Mudrex now offers some of India’s lowest trading fees—down to 0.03% for future
Stay updated with the latest insights—subscribe to our newsletter for real-time market analysis!