FM’s stance on crypto trading norms brings cheer to industry

The cryptocurrency industry in India is relieved at Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments that the government will take a “calibrated” approach to crypto trading in the country.

The minister said “negotiations and discussions” are going on with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on how to regulate cryptocurrency in India. “Obviously, the RBI will take a call on what kind of official currency, cryptocurrency will have to be planned and how it has to be regulated,” she said in an interview with CNBC TV18 on Saturday.

“The finance minister’s stance on ‘considering a calibrated approach’ is an encouraging sign. We are a 100-plus staff company with some of the best talents emerging out of some of the premier institutes of India like the Indian Institutes of Technology,” said Sumit Gupta, founder of crypto exchange CoinDCX. “We believe crypto as an asset has huge potential and if properly administered can help India earn sizeable revenue,” he said.

India’s cryptocurrency industry has been urging the government to reconsider a possible blanket ban on crypto trading in India. The government had, during the budget session of Parliament last month, announced a plan to “create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency”. The bill was also expected to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India”, which led many to believe that dealing in bitcoin, ethereum, and other crypto products would become illegal in the country.

“There have been positive developments around crypto. The ministry officials are taking a judicious approach to create an inclusive regulatory framework. With the recent global developments, the Indian government is of the opinion that a unilateral view of restricting it is not going to help, as India is at the forefront of the fintech ecosystem. The industry is optimistic with the stance taken and would love to initiate dialogue with the government to resolve any issue,” said Gaurav Dahake, chief executive officer of Bitbns, another crypto exchange.

Nishchal Shetty, founder of WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange, encouraged the ecosystem to innovate via a tweet on Saturday. “Our finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made it clear that India will compete globally in crypto,” Shetty said.