For the Indian Crypto traders and investors, this year has not been very favourable due to regular government crackdowns as well as because of uncertainty concerning the future of the crypto industry in the country. However, according to some reports, legalisation and regulations could be on India’s doorstep.
The Reserve Bank of India spent the entire year trying to demotivate the citizens of holding crypto assets which eventually led to a crackdown. Indian banks being banned from dealing in crypto assets resulted in making it extremely difficult for trading digital assets using fiat without turning to OTC platforms.
RBI has been involved in court cases along with local exchanges which led the entire nation in a dilemma concerning the legality of digital currencies. With recent reports, there was a committee meeting in which a senior official who attended the meeting said ‘We have already had two meetings. There is a general consensus that cryptocurrency cannot be dismissed as completely illegal. It needs to be legalised with strong riders. Deliberations are on. We will have more clarity soon’.
The first interdisciplinary include different states and various banking departments. The second inter-ministerial committee was set up by Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary – Department of Economic Affairs. The purpose of this committee was to recheck and reconsider crypto asset viability. These ministers attended a Global summit and are expected to share insights making recommendations keeping the Indian situation in mind. Next committee meeting is supposed to take place in January 2019 and observers are optimistic about the outcome this committee meeting will hold for India concerning crypto assets.
One of the officials stated that ‘We have also taken inputs from cryptocurrency exchanges and experts and will be examining legal issues with the law ministry. It’s a complicated issue. Once all aspects are decided, then we will have more clarity,’. It is believed that if India opens up to crypto markets with the required regulations in crypto trading, It could become one of the biggest markets on planet Earth.
