Indian government panel to issue consultation paper on cryptocurrencies
Date: 2024-08-22 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
An exclusive panel led by the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) will publish a consultation paper. The move is aimed at facilitating the government’s “ongoing efforts” to provide clarity on crypto asset regulation.
The news comes weeks after India’s Finance Ministry said it had no plans to regulate crypto asset sales. However, it did say that virtual digital asset service providers (VDASPs) are reporting entities for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes.
Last year, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) put forward policy and regulatory recommendations for cryptocurrencies, which were included in the G20 roadmap.
The country’s finance ministry also announced that it would consider country-specific features and risks before implementing any cryptocurrency regulation. As reported earlier, the country’s finance minister stressed the importance of global cooperation on cryptocurrency policy at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Morocco, which was chaired by India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, has been against and critical of cryptocurrencies in the past. For example, an RBI official said earlier this year that cryptocurrencies are not “currencies” as they do not have an underlying value.
However, in a good move, the country prepared to formulate a cryptocurrency policy in September last year with a global consensus during its G20 presidency. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stressed the need for a global framework on cryptocurrencies during the B20 summit in India in 2023.
