India’s largest retail brokerages have secured approval to offer US stock investing through GIFT City — a move that hands Indian crypto investors a regulated path to crypto-linked equities, even as Bitcoin ETFs remain firmly off the table.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has cleared Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, and Upstox to provide international and US stock access via the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre, according to a Moneycontrol report. The services are expected to go live in two to three months, once the firms complete technology integration, testing, and compliance.
The Approval
Under the structure, Zerodha and Upstox will operate as broker-dealers, routing trades through international clearing partners such as ViewTrade International, Interactive Brokers, and Alpaca Securities, while Groww and Angel One will function as Global Access Providers.
Indian residents will invest under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which permits up to $250,000 a year in overseas remittances. The approvals build on GIFT City’s Global Access Provider framework, introduced in August 2025 to create a lower-cost, regulated channel for Indians to invest abroad, and follow similar moves by Dhan’s parent and SAMCO Securities. Demand has been fueled by global market enthusiasm around marquee US listings, including SpaceX’s recent record IPO.
What It Means for Crypto Investors
For crypto-focused investors, the significance is access to a specific basket of US-listed equities that move with the digital-asset market. Through the new route, Indians will be able to buy shares of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate Bitcoin holder whose stock functions as a leveraged proxy on the asset; Bitcoin miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms; and Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange. These instruments offer exposure to crypto’s performance through a conventional, regulated brokerage account.
That regulated wrapper is itself the appeal. Indian crypto investors have long contended with the structural risks of domestic and offshore exchanges — hacks, withdrawal freezes, and banking blockades — under a “not your keys, not your coins” custody model. US-routed brokerage accounts, by contrast, sit within a regulated clearing structure and carry Securities Investor Protection Corporation coverage of up to $500,000 if a broker fails, shifting counterparty risk away from crypto-native platforms.
But Bitcoin ETFs Stay Blocked—Here’s How
The crucial limit is that this route does not extend to spot Bitcoin ETFs. IFSCA circular IFSCA-PLNP/80/2024-Capital Markets, dated August 12, 2025, revised the Global Access framework to exclude crypto-assets and crypto-underlying products from the definition of permissible “financial products” in the IFSC.
Under it, a Global Access Provider “shall not provide access to crypto-assets, instruments with underlying crypto exposure” with a compliance deadline of October 31, 2025 — meaning the brokers now cleared to offer US stocks are barred from offering crypto ETFs.
The restriction is already in force. Following the circular, Vested Finance delisted the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and others for Indian residents, while INDmoney went further, blocking new buys, halting sells, and liquidating existing crypto-linked ETF holdings to comply.
IFSCA’s decision effectively bars Global Access Providers from offering crypto products to Indian residents. The regulatory line is precise: a company whose business is tied to crypto, like Strategy or Coinbase, is an ordinary equity and permitted; a fund whose underlying is crypto, like IBIT, is not.
The Tax Picture, and Why It Isn’t a Loophole
The distinction matters for tax, but not in the way some assume. India taxes virtual digital assets punishingly: a flat 30% on gains under Section 115BBH, a 1% TDS on transactions, and no ability to offset losses, with the effective rate climbing higher once cess and surcharge are added.
Crypto-proxy equities, by contrast, are foreign shares, not VDAs, so they fall under India’s general capital-gains rules for foreign equities — a regime that, unlike the VDA framework, permits loss set-off and may carry different rates depending on holding period and income slab.
That difference is real, but it is not the “convert your 30% crypto tax into low equity tax” arbitrage some have floated, for one decisive reason: the vehicle that would offer direct Bitcoin exposure, a spot ETF — is precisely what IFSCA has blocked. The route gives crypto-adjacent equity exposure, not a tax-efficient wrapper for actual crypto holdings.
Investors should also note that LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh attract a 20% Tax Collected at Source, refundable or adjustable at the time of filing, and that foreign holdings must be disclosed annually in the income-tax return. Tax treatment of foreign securities is fact-specific, and investors should consult a qualified tax professional rather than treat any of this as a strategy; this article is not tax advice.
The broader picture is a coherent one. India continues to tax and tolerate crypto exposure at arm’s length while walling off direct crypto products, and the new GIFT City access captures that posture exactly. Indian investors get a cleaner, regulated way to bet on crypto through the equity market, but the most direct on-ramp, a Bitcoin ETF, stays closed.
Also Read: India’s Crypto Tax Net Widens but Regulation Still Missing
