India: Government to keep an ‘open mind’ regarding Bitcoin and crypto in the country

The Indian cryptocurrency community has been witnessing tremendous growth but a lack of regulatory clarity has been a significant roadblock. Although the government of India has been apprehensive of cryptocurrencies, it has recently been talking about keeping an “open mind” and working to boost the development of a national digital fiat.

Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance Ministry cleared the air about the alleged ban on cryptos like Bitcoin. While talking about the crypto bill that is yet to make its way to the parliament, Thakur noted that the government was considering the issue pertaining to digital assets as one of the main agendas for the government. The current government has been emphasizing the need for digitizing the country and thus, a crypto ban might go against that stance.

The MoS drew attention to a digital INR the government and the Reserve Bank of India [RBI] have been working on. The minister also called attention to the measures that the government has been taking to allow space for innovation, however, the volatile nature of the crypto market has been worrying.

In the interview, Thakur also spoke about protecting investors during times of high volatility in the digital assets market. The minister highlighted Bitcoin to note the constantly fluctuating price and reiterated that they were on “the side of technology” and were considering crypto with an “open mind.”

Recently, the Inter-Ministerial Committee [IMC], which was formed to understand crypto and recommend regulations, suggested a ban on all private cryptos. This caused an uproar from the crypto community in the country and at the time, Thakur had stated that the government is yet to decide on the same.

While holding a preventive stance against the use of cryptos in financing illegitimate activities, Thakur noted that a legislative proposal will be introduced in the Parliament after due process.