Crypto Wallet Ban India: What It Means and How Indians Are Still Trading
When people talk about a crypto wallet ban India, a misunderstood policy that never officially banned wallets but restricted banking access for crypto users. Also known as crypto banking restrictions in India, it created chaos in 2018 and left millions wondering if they could still hold Bitcoin or use wallets like Trust Wallet or MetaMask. The truth? India never banned crypto wallets. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) blocked banks from serving crypto businesses in 2018, but that wasn’t a wallet ban—it was a banking ban. Users could still create wallets, send Bitcoin, and trade on decentralized exchanges. They just couldn’t easily deposit rupees or cash out through traditional banks.
This forced Indians to turn to P2P crypto, peer-to-peer trading networks that let users buy and sell crypto directly with cash or UPI transfers. Also known as crypto P2P India, platforms like Binance P2P, LocalBitcoins, and Paxful became lifelines. Someone in Delhi could pay cash to a seller in Mumbai for Bitcoin, and the seller would send the coins straight to their wallet. No bank involved. No KYC required. Just trust, screenshots, and a phone call. Meanwhile, blockchain India, the underlying tech behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, kept running quietly in the background. Wallets still worked. Transactions still confirmed. Nodes still synced. The network never stopped—it was just the banking system that got scared.
By 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the RBI’s banking ban. But the damage was done. Many users had already learned how to trade without banks. They kept using P2P. They kept using non-custodial wallets. They kept using tools like crypto regulations India, the evolving legal gray zone that now requires exchanges to collect KYC and report transactions. Also known as crypto tax compliance India, this new phase didn’t stop trading—it just made it more visible. Today, over 15 million Indians hold crypto. Most use wallets like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Phantom. None of them needed a bank to do it.
What you’ll find below are real stories and breakdowns of how Indians navigated this mess. From fake airdrops that tricked users into giving up private keys, to how DEXs like Uniswap became essential tools, to why some still avoid KYC even after the ban was lifted. These aren’t theory pieces. They’re maps for people who want to stay in control of their money—even when the rules change overnight.
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Non-Custodial Crypto Wallet Ban Proposals in India: What’s Really Happening?
India hasn't banned non-custodial crypto wallets, but heavy taxes and unclear rules make them hard to use. Learn what's really happening with self-custody, TDS, UPI limits, and what to do in 2025.