The Indian government will be ready to provide an early draft of its cryptocurrency regulations to relevant authorities by April 2018.
The update was shared by Subhash Chandra Garg, the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, while speaking to local news sources.
According to Garg, the group that is working on the proposed regulations is in the last stages of devising the drafts and will be presenting them to relevant authorities within the next two months.
The Indian government is keen on stressing that cryptocurrencies should be classified as crypto assets.
Don’t call it cryptocurrency
Garg mentioned that the Indian government does not like the term “cryptocurrency,” since no one but the government has the authority to issue currency to anyone. He elaborated that the government prefers to call any cryptocurrency a “crypto asset,” and is currently working towards establishing that fact through the set of regulations that are currently being prepared.
He went on to explain that once that step of terming cryptocurrencies as assets has officially been completed, the government will move forward to the next phase, where it will determine if these assets are being used for making payments in illegal activities so relevant actions could be taken accordingly.
He mentioned that the steps to identify and provide any further suggestions would come next. The authorities will determine further regulations to impose on crypto assets and if anything needs to be refined or eliminated, such as the concept of “cryptocurrency.”
Crypto assets will not be a part of the financial system
While Garg was permissible of terming cryptocurrency as crypto assets, he was very clear on the government’s stance on not making these assets a part of the financial system.
He explained that while no one can stop someone from thinking what is valuable and what is not, it does not mean that people should “fall prey” to these avenues without their due diligence. He mentioned that the government has issued advisories in the past to ensure that it is letting the country’s citizens know of its stance and suggestions, and will continue to do so to protect the interests of the public.
What does this stance mean
This is positive news. If regulations are being drafted, then it is not necessary that they would be unfriendly or unjust even if the government’s stance on including cryptocurrencies to the financial system seems unclear.
While countries like Japan had been very lenient and full of acceptance towards cryptocurrencies, other territories such as South Korea have been a bit stricter with some intricate cryptocurrency regulation policies; however, in both cases, the cryptocurrency industry has come out as the winner with the exception of a few aspects (such as non-South Korean nationals not being able to trade in cryptocurrencies).
With India’s developing stance on cryptocurrencies, it remains to be seen which final approach it is going to settle with. For the sake of the Indian cryptocurrency community, we hope that it does not go down the route of China to curb the cryptocurrency industry within its territory. The Indian cryptocurrency is in its infancy and is an emerging market, so its local cryptocurrency community needs some time to flourish and prove its mettle.
Source: bitguru.co.uk
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