According to data compiled by Crebaco, a cryptocurrency research group, crypto trading volumes on India’s major exchanges have plummeted since April 1, the day the new tax law went into force.

Data from Coinmarketcap and Nomics, a data provider, was used to compile volumes for four Indian exchanges. WazirX is down 72 percent, ZebPay is down 59 percent, CoinDCX is down 52 percent, and Bits is down 41 percent, according to the statistics. The transactions were conducted in US dollars.

India’s crypto tax law, which imposes a 30% tax on earnings from crypto transactions and does not allow losses from other crypto transactions to be offset, went into effect on April 1, 2022. The most contentious element, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) liability, will not go into effect until July.

It’s unclear whether the decline in trading volumes is due to the new tax law, but the data suggests that it’s in keeping with the global trend.

According to Crebaco’s Sidharth Sogani, the data was produced by analyzing four to five credible exchanges.

“The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of April were all holidays. Volumes have continued to decline since then. This isn’t going to happen again, in my opinion. This has established a new standard. It may go further down or sideways, but it is unlikely to return to its original position. The new tax has clearly had a detrimental impact on the market.

The government should investigate this, and because there is no way to stop it (crypto), the government should welcome it,” he stated.

Suril Desai, a top crypto lawyer, says it’s unclear whether the decline in numbers indicates that trade has slowed or shifted elsewhere. “Exchanges are the only source of trading volume for us.” “It’s possible that off-chain deals are taking place for which there is no record,” Desai added.

Other exchangers did not respond to demands for comment by press time, while ZebPay indicated they “won’t be commenting.”

The new tax regulation, according to Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, another large Indian exchange, is impacting the market.