Indian cryptocurrency exchanges have seen a sharp rise in perpetual futures activity since their rollout less than a year ago. These perpetual futures are becoming popular, accounting for 70–80% of trading volume compared to regular spot trading, driven by a global crypto surge.
As per a Moneycontrol report, crypto exchanges such as CoinSwitch, CoinDCX, Mudrex, Giottus, and Delta Exchange, which recently added these features, are vying to attract users by reducing the charges and by offering INR-denominated trading options.
In the vein of stock market derivatives, a crypto futures contract binds two sides to exchange tokens at a predetermined rate and future point. Such agreements draw from anticipated market values and views on the base crypto, featuring an expiration date and possible physical or cash resolution.
By contrast, perpetual futures aim to mirror the spot price of the asset closely, without requiring closure or a fixed term, allowing positions to persist without limit. Observers in the sector point out that a major draw for crypto futures and options lies in India’s tax rules, where derivatives escape direct taxation.
This enables extended holding without the 30% levy on virtual digital asset gains or the 1% tax deducted at source on spot deals exceeding 10,000 rupees. Edul Patel, Co-Founder and Chief Executive at Mudrex, noted that leverage across various tokens, scaled to their worth and hazards, stands as the primary pull, with multiples at Mudrex ranging from 25X to 100X based on token pricing.
Like shares, these tools permit handling substantial amounts via borrowing power, even if the account balance is modest for entering trades.
Crypto F&O Gains Momentum in India, Outpacing Spot Trading
Patel shared that “The trading volumes for futures is 4-5X higher than spot trading on Mudrex. Even globally for platforms like Binance, Bitcoin Futures is 10X larger than Bitcoin spot trades.”
He stressed that avoiding TDS (tax deducted at source) is not the main reason for the popularity of crypto futures. Instead, lower trading costs and the ability to bet on price rises or falls across many tokens via perpetual futures are the key drivers. He noted that on Mudrex, spot traders and futures traders are usually different groups.
Vikram Subburaj, Co-Founder and CEO of Giottus, which started futures trading last month, said futures and options (F&O) are a natural next step for trading. Initially, most trading volume on exchanges came from spot trading. As the spot market has grown more established, the derivatives market, like futures, has gained traction.
Over the past two years, interest in crypto futures has been steadily increasing and is now picking up strong momentum. “Giottus has just started with the offering, so we are testing with 10X leverage for now. Overall, for most exchanges, if you see volumes, 70–80 percent of that is coming from crypto futures,” he told Moneycontrol.
Kashif Raza, Founder of education site Bitinning, also attributed much of the buzz and scale to stock influencers and major players, who bring large followings into crypto after SEBI’s F&O curbs. Exchanges lure them with perks like overseas excursions to expand user bases, Raza explained. In the stock market, brokers like Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, Upstox, and Dhan earn most of their revenue from derivatives trading, such as futures and options.
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