India to define its stance on crypto

India is about to define its stance on crypto.

For several years its officials’ attitude has been contradictive, guessing different forces at play.

Its Central Bank is a huge naysayer (which is understandable ?): in 2018 it banned all crypto transactions, but 2 years after the country’s Supreme Court overturned the ban. In the beginning of 2021, it tried to strike again and supported by some deputies, proposed to ban crypto, but then the Finance Minister made an reassuring appearance, promising a comprehensive crypto regulation to come soon.

Recently the rumours surrounding this upcoming regulation have intensified, and today’s Prime Minister Modi’s tweet confirmed the government’s focus: “…It is important that all democratic nations work together on this [crypto] and ensure it does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth”.

The information that has leaked so far implies that crypto legislation will be conservative, but still allow Indian people and businesses enjoy crypto:

⚖️ ban the use of cryptocurrencies for making payments, but allow and regulate trading of crypto as assets

⚖️ prohibit Ads for crypto services

⚖️ reclassify crypto exchanges to reduce the GST (consumption tax, somewhat similar to the TVA) from 18% to 1%

Crypto regulation will help Indian crypto actors leave the grey area and officially become an industry. It will also help protect crypto users and investors, which is a paramount thing in a country with world’s second-best crypto adoption rate.

“…there’s music in the air” ??