Following the Standing Committee on Finance discussed the regulative hurdles with the crypto industry spokespeople on November 12, the industry specialists see a silver covering as there is a clear dialogue and legitimate concerns are being discussed, which is a move forward.
Cryptocurrency cannot be stopped but must be regulated, said the Parliamentary panel in the conference. The Standing Committee on Finance, which BJP’s Jayant Sinha chaired, met spokespeople of crypto exchanges, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), industry bodies, and other stakeholders to discuss the regulatory challenges of Cryptocurrency in India.
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“The discussions and questions by the committee were around how the industry is operating currently, why it should be regulated and how India will benefit from cryptocurrencies. The industry has to submit a written response on these soon,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of crypto exchange company Unocoin.
“Until now, the biggest worry was that we were never called for a discussion. So we are happy that we got a chance to talk as an industry and be heard,” he added.
Specialists tracking the space stated there is no straightforward answer to this, and multiple laws will need to be added to bring the several Government departments under one umbrella.
“The government should ideally start with a clear direction that crypto will be accorded a status similar to an asset and not a currency. The next should be a filtering process in collaboration with industry and exchanges on which kind of such assets will be allowed and otherwise.” remarked Rameesh Kailasam, CEO, India Tech.Org
Many concurred with the concern manifested at the meeting over full-page Cryptocurrency advertisements in national newspapers.
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“As a start for better checks and balances, ideally India founded, and locally domiciled crypto exchanges and companies should be allowed to operate in this space,” continued Kailasam.
References have said that there will likely be more conversations with the government, as the Centre is finalizing a legislation on the subject and there are expectations that the government may soon pilot a bill around the Budget session to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India.
Anirudh Rastogi, founder of Ikigai Law, states that the law had to be very nuanced. If it is too restrictive in nature, it will be a challenge for the industry in the long run. He also sums that the opportunity that the crypto industry brings is enormous in terms of capital as well as talent.
Last panel meeting appears quickly after a high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was held on Saturday wherein the industry specialists discussed the concerns and the way forward. Earlier in September, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das again raised concerns on cryptocurrency regarding economic stability.
