Indian Prime Minister Leads Digital Currency Review as Country Determines Way Forward

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a review meeting on digital currency, according to a Bloomberg report.

Sources said that the government ultimately decided to continue proactively engaging with experts and other stakeholders in the evolving industry. 

However, the review was not without its critiques. Attempts to woo the country’s younger generation though misleading advertisements should be curtailed. Additionally, unregulated crypto markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for money laundering and terror financing. 

The meeting also highlighted that India should seek global partnerships and collective strategies on crypto regulation, while considering global examples and best practices.

Parliamentary meeting planned

Meanwhile, India’s parliamentary panel on finance is scheduled to meet industry experts and associations on challenges and opportunities in crypto finance this week. After some prolonged hesitancy, Indian authorities are officially meeting with the country’s crypto leaders for the first time. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance will be holding the “Hearing of the views of associations, industry experts on the subject of ‘CryptoFinance’: Opportunities and challenges,” on Nov. 15. 

Among those invited include the members of the India Internet and Mobile Association, and the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council. Members of these associations had been anticipating the opportunity to speak with lawmakers for some time now, hoping to foster a collaborative spirit in regulating the industry.

Crypto in India

These meetings are some of the growing signs of India’s developing relationship with cryptocurrencies. Although cryptocurrencies had been banned in 2018, this was overturned by the country’s Supreme Court earlier this year after appeals from the industry. A bill proposing to ban private coins introduced earlier this year has largely stalled, but could be addressed during the winter parliamentary session.

Last week, India’s securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), approved the country’s first ETF that invests in cryptocurrency companies. Investing in several prominent companies in the crypto space, including Coinbase, Bitfarms, SBI Holdings, and MicroStrategy, Invesco’s CoinShares Global Blockchain ETF has performed well over the past year, with a one-year return of 89.52%.

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