A senior official from the Indian Finance Ministry stated on Sunday that after studying the positions of world leaders on a workable crypto regulation framework, which were part of the Group of Twenty (G20) discussions, India will analyse and decide its own position on cryptocurrency in the coming months.
Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, stated to a crowd of reporters on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ conference that “India’s position will be decided in the coming months.” The G20 “has put together a framework for assessing risk,” he continued, so we will examine “what the leaders have agreed to globally” before determining “what will be a sound policy for India.”
India’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been questioned for years because the country once had a thriving business before suffering a string of setbacks including hefty taxation, a crypto winter, a “shadow ban,” anti-money laundering regulations, and enforcement operations against significant exchanges. After India proclaimed establishing global crypto regulations a top priority for its G20 presidency, it attracted more attention when it received a “synthesis paper” from the IMF and Financial Stability Board (FSB).
Seth’s remarks on Sunday point to a turnaround in the likelihood that India may draught its own legislation, the first time since early 2022 when India shelved efforts to fully legalise cryptocurrency through a bill.
Indian government representatives earlier told CoinDesk that the country doesn’t necessarily need to create its own crypto legislation in the form of a bill.
While the FSB calls for a review of the state of execution of its recommendations by the end of 2025, an official told CoinDesk in August that India has already implemented anti-money laundering regulations and a tax framework for cryptocurrencies, and that may be sufficient. Although the country’s central bank has argued for a ban on cryptocurrencies, the government has not made this clear and is now unlikely to take that course. A general ban won’t be effective, according to the synthesis report.
An official document outlining India‘s position on cryptocurrencies as recommendations before the synthesis paper was finalised was released prior to the G20 Leaders’ Summit last weekend.
