New Delhi, Mps in India favoring crypto adaptation and regulations. India The consensus at the first-ever Parliamentary panel discussing the broad contours of Crypto Finance was that cryptocurrency cannot be stopped, but it must be regulated. The BJP’s Jayant Sinha chairs the Standing Committee on Finance, which met today with representatives from crypto exchanges, the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), industry bodies, and other stakeholders to discuss concerns about crypto adaptation and regulations in India. There have been numerous concerns raised by various stakeholders in the country about the investment potential and risks associated with cryptocurrency.
Crypto Adaptation and Regulations
There was agreement at the meeting that a regulatory mechanism should be established; though it is not yet clear who should serve as the regulator.
The most serious concern expressed at the meeting was the security of investors’ funds. A member of parliament who attended the meeting expressed concern about full-page cryptocurrency advertisements in national newspapers. Cryptocurrencies, according to experts, are a form of investor democracy.
The panel’s meeting is significant because it comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting with officials from various ministries and the Reserve Bank of India on the issue of cryptocurrency.
“We have called stakeholders from across the industry including operators of major exchanges, members of CII as well as academics from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, who have done a very thorough study on the crypto finance,” Mr Sinha had told news agency PTI ahead of the meeting.
MPs are now demanding that government officials appear before the committee and address their concerns. The meeting’s official agenda, which was distributed to member MPs, stated, “Hearing of Associations/Industry experts on the subject – Crypto-Finance: Opportunities and Challenges.”
Another member of parliament stated that El Salvador is the only country that recognises cryptocurrency as legal tender.
The Finance Ministry has already held a number of meetings with stakeholders to discuss the regulatory issue. The Reserve Bank of India and; the Securities and Exchange Board of India have also expressed concern about the unregulated growth of cryptocurrency in India; citing vulnerable retail investors.
“On crypto…we have serious concerns from the point of view of macroeconomic and financial stability. How the issue has to be dealt with – we have given our detailed suggestions to the government; as far as I know; the matter is under the active consideration of the government, and the government will decide;” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said on Wednesday at a Business Standard event.
In early March 2020, the Supreme Court struck down the RBI circular prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies.
An MP who attended today’s Crypto-Finance meeting stated that the government intends to introduce a new Bill to regulate Cryptocurrencies.
The new Bill could be introduced during Parliament’s winter session, which begins on November 29, 2021.
Source: NDTV