Over the past two months, there has been a lot of news and reports going on about the state of crypto in India. While it seemed that the cryptocurrencies will be banned from the country, except for the ability of the government to have CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), it seems things won’t be as bleak. On March 6th, India’s Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman gave a positive sign in an interview.
Speaking to a panel of industrialists on CNBC, Sitharaman said that the Supreme Court has asked the government to have a clear position for crypto. However, she noted that it’s not a black-or-white decision, and hence the government will have a “very calibrated position” on crypto. She also mentioned that banning isn’t the solution and the “government wants to ensure there’s a window for experiments in cryptocurrency space.”
This is a highly positive sentiment for the cryptocurrency space from the subcontinent which has been against it for quite some time now. Sadly, Mrs Sitharaman didn’t divulge any more details. And as always, one needs to wait for official communication before celebrating the news.
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However, it certainly is a positive sign. Union Minister Anurag Thakur also said that the Indian government is keeping an open mind about new technologies, which also include cryptocurrencies, if they can help in improving governance. He further elaborated “Let me say that we welcome innovation and new technology… blockchain is a new emerging technology. Cryptocurrency is a form of virtual currency. I firmly believe that we must always evaluate, explore and encourage new ideas with an open mind.“
Now, all we have to do is to wait and watch and see what kind of regulation is passed on at the parliament for cryptocurrencies. Needless to say, these statements do suggest that the government doesn’t want India to remain behind in the crypto revolution.