Indian Crypto Firms Suggest Policy Ideas to Government Ahead of Possible Ban

Exchanges including WazirX, CoinDCX and others are presenting government officials with their vision for how India should regulate crypto.

AccessTimeIconMar 30, 2021 at 3:47 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:33 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Crypto exchanges in India are planning to present the country's government and central bank with their vision for a productive regulatory regime, The Economic Times reported Tuesday.

The group – including Unocoin, WazirX, CoinDCX, Paxful, Pocketbits, ZebPay and Coinswitch – compiled a package of documents explaining the current state of the crypto industry in India and possible ways to regulate it.

The industry entreaty comes as Indian lawmakers float a potential ban of private cryptocurrencies.

The package will be sent to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Reserve Bank of India, the Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, according to the report.

The presentation, reviewed by CoinDesk, says India currently has more than 10 million crypto users, over half-a-million day traders and more than 3,000 people employed in the crypto industry. The presentation mentions the money-laundering and environmental concerns related to cryptocurrencies and suggests a package of policy proposals.

The exchanges suggested research on potential consequences if India bans crypto, proposals on the upcoming regulation, a draft code of conduct for crypto exchanges to adopt and an overview of crypto regulation practices around the world.

India is looking to pass its first-ever cryptocurrency legislation, though Sitharaman partly soothed industry fears of overreach. The finance minister said on March 15 the government will still "allow certain windows for people to do experiments on the blockchain, bitcoin or cryptocurrency."

However, around the same time, rumors started circulating Indian authorities might start blocking IP addresses of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Despite the regulatory uncertainty, India has an active crypto market, which grew significantly over the pandemic year of 2020, as CoinDesk previously reported. The country has a large young population and is the biggest online market in the world, according to research data.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about