Parliamentary Committee To Meet Crypto Players of India

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has invited crypto industry players to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the industry. It is a significant step towards policy formulation for Digital Assets.

The Government of India is looking to meet crypto industry experts to discuss the prospects of the industry.

It is a significant development towards the formulation of a policy regarding Digital Assets.

The Lok Sabha has scheduled the meeting for “Hearing of the views of associations, industry experts on the subject of ‘CryptoFinance’: Opportunities and challenges”, which will be hosted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on November 15.

The committee is led by the Lok Sabha member and former Minister of State Finance, Mr. Jayant Sinha.

Industry players could include exchanges like CoinSwitch Kuber, CoinDCX, Bitbns, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), under the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), etc.

This meeting signals a stark difference in the stance of the Government. Earlier the Government was vehemently against Digital Assets, which led the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to promulgate a blanket ban on them.

However, in 2020 the Supreme Court quashed the RBI circular banning the crypto assets.

Since then, the industry has grown at an astronomical pace which may have softened the stance of the Government.

A person in the know told the Economic Times (ET) that “From RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India’s) ban in 2018 to now, this seems to be a positive step because this is the first time public consultation is officially happening.”

Another person told ET that the meeting with the Committee signals the seriousness of the Government to include the stakeholders before the draft bill on cryptocurrency is tabled.

The Crypto industry in India has functioned largely in an uncertain environment. Recently WazirX founder, Nischal Shetty revealed that India may have around 2 crore crypto investors. Regulation can open floodgates for investment and entrepreneurship which can make India a global hub, given the country’s abundant tech talent.

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