Crypto News Today: India-EU Free Trade Deal Likely to Fast-Track Digital Asset Regulation in New Delhi?

Guy Fawkes 2026.01.28 3 min read

India and the European Union have successfully concluded a Free trade Agreement (FTA). The deal’s negotiations were launched in June 2022 and finalized on 27 January 2026. Could “the Mother of all Deals” accelerate India’s push toward clearer crypto regulation?

According to the Free Trade Agreement, it grants privileged access for EU exports to the world’s most populous country of 1.45 billion people, potentially doubling EU goods exports to India by 2032, eliminating or reducing tariffs on over 96% of EU goods exports, eliminating or reducing prohibitive tariffs on key EU agri-food products like wine, olive oil, chocolate and pastries. The deal is set to save around €4 billion every year in duties on European products.

India–EU Trade Deal: What’s Actually Happening

India and the European Union are close to finalising a historic Free Trade Agreement — one of India’s biggest trade pacts ever.

Here are the key highlights

1⃣ Tariff cuts on major goods
India will significantly reduce import… pic.twitter.com/0xCPO4kIY9

— Jassneet Singh (@jassneetsingha) January 26, 2026

However, the FTA does not enter into force immediately. All eyes are on the ratification steps that remain. The EU Parliament ratification could take at least a year after signing.

Because the deal is designed to cover not just goods but also services and trade rules, it creates a bigger policy “container” for how cross-border digital business should be made compliant. This is the area where crypto exchanges and stablecoin providers increasingly sit.

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Pressure Increases As India’s Crypto Industry Heads Into Budget 2026

The Indian crypto industry is already lobbying for major tax fixes. The current regime is known for driving crypto activity offshore and weakening consumer protection at home.

India’s current tough tax framework for virtual digital assets includes a flat 30% tax on gains and a 1% TDS on transactions.

But Budget 2026 can be an inflection point, especially after the EU-India FTA. The agreement certainly highlights the cost of big regulatory gaps in the crypto segment.

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Is FTA A Shield Against Trump’s Trade Policies?

Meanwhile, all eyes are on US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the deal.

Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, said in an interview, that the EU-India trade deal is one of the best agreements available to the two sides, which have traditionally been protectionist when it comes to strategic sectors of their economies, like agriculture and autos.

“This is a deal that they can do that will have a positive impact, while the US and China will remain closed as new market openings go. So in that respect, this is probably one of the best deals they can do at the moment,” said Lee-Makiyama.

After Davos 2026, trade war tensions and Trump’s Greenland demands, currently Bitcoin is trading under $88k.