The global digital asset market is at the cusp of a possible structural shift as the US Senate prepares to vote on the CLARITY Act. Having cleared the House in July 2025 and the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026, the legislation marks a potential transition from unpredictable "regulation-by-enforcement" towards a comprehensive statutory market structure.
India, meanwhile, continues to manage crypto assets through strict compliance guardrails covering taxation, anti-money laundering (AML) and tax reporting, rather than through a dedicated market regulator.
India is unlikely to blindly replicate US laws, experts said, but global developments are accelerating the legitimization of digital assets and shifting crypto from largely speculative trading towards a recognised investment asset class.
There is no immediate change or impact on Indian crypto investors. However, clearer global rules across markets such as the US, EU and Dubai could reduce systemic platform risks and provide safer offshore benchmarks for the industry.
US rulebook
The CLARITY Act establishes statutory legal definitions, assigns explicit agency authority and sets clear compliance obligations for industry participants.
Under the proposed law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retains oversight over digital assets classified as securities, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) gains full regulatory jurisdiction over spot markets in digital commodities.
Currently, cryptocurrencies are split into two categories. Digital commodities are tokens tied to functional, decentralised blockchains that fall under CFTC jurisdiction. Bitcoin and Ethereum are examples of digital commodities, as their value derives directly from distributed network utility rather than a central issuing entity.
The second category comprises tokens that depend on central managerial efforts, which remain under SEC oversight as securities.
Exchanges, brokers and dealers will register with the CFTC and become subject to Bank Secrecy Act rules, mandatory KYC/AML programmes, and upcoming custody and asset segregation mandates.
Vikaas M Sachdeva, CEO of BitDelta India, highlighted that the Act’s core value lies in removing operational ambiguity. "The CLARITY Act actually reduces regulatory risk premium," Sachdeva explained, noting that it answers fundamental business questions regarding asset classification, jurisdiction, and intermediary obligations.
Muthuswamy Iyer, chief compliance officer of BitDelta India, added that this framework aligns the US with international benchmarks like Dubai's VARA and Singapore's MAS, standardising conduct, licensing, and capital adequacy expectations.
India’s approach
In contrast to the US market-structure approach, India monitors and taxes crypto assets without formal statutory regulation.
Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, noted that India’s framework rests on three main pillars: tax law (a 30% flat tax and 1% TDS), mandatory anti-money laundering (AML) registration with FIU-IND (Financial Intelligence Unit—India), and direct exchange-to-tax reporting under the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework launching in April 2026.
Sachdeva emphasised that the two nations operate from different vantage points. While the US is constructing a commercial market structure, India has focused on building compliance guardrails prioritizing financial stability, consumer protection, and AML traceability.
Global influence
Could the US framework influence India’s eventual approach? Experts believe any direct mirroring of US legislation will be minimal.
Gupta stressed that India’s policy decisions remain guided by domestic macroeconomic and market conditions, even as a close eye is kept on foreign frameworks.
Iyer pointed out that Indian policy discussions evaluate a diverse mix of global practices, including the European Union's MiCA, Dubai, and Singapore, rather than adopting a single country's framework.
While domestic regulatory thinking continues to mature, India's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recently recommended considering a recognised Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) alongside FIU-IND as an interim oversight mechanism until a comprehensive Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) law is enacted.
Both Gupta and Iyer echoed that this is an encouraging step towards structured governance.
As global markets transition from speculative trading to long-term investing, India’s eventual statutory framework will likely pair strong domestic guardrails with international practices.