WazirX Shifts base from India to Dubai

The co-founders of Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, Nischal Shetty, and Siddharth Menon have shifted their base from India to Dubai. Shetty and Menon, according to sources, have relocated to Dubai with their families, even though WazirX maintains offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. One of the individuals added that Sameer Mhatre, a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at WazirX, continues to operate from India. WazirX’s whole team is now working remotely. The news comes as the Indian government imposes a 30% tax on virtual digital assets and a 1% tax-deductible at source, resulting in a significant decline in trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges. The government has stated that no losses on VDAs will be deducted from profits, and crypto mining will be taxed as well, which has sparked outrage among industry participants. Shetty has been vocal on social media sites, particularly Twitter, criticising the Indian government’s stance on crypto taxes, claiming that the measure will affect domestic players and result in a wealth exodus. Shetty also unveiled Shardeum, a joint venture with Omar Sayed, a crypto pioneer headquartered in the United States. Shardeum is a layer one blockchain project that aims to address scalability and transaction difficulties associated with cryptocurrencies. After India slapped tariffs on cryptocurrency transactions, Dubai has become a hub for cryptocurrency developers and influencers. Crypto ...