India to be offered an alternative framework for cryptocurrency regulation

Several Indian cryptocurrency exchanges will send to the authorities their proposals for effective regulation of the industry. Among the recipients of the document are Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Reserve Bank (RBI), according to The Economic Times.

The authors of the initiative included information on global regulatory practices in their package of recommendations, as well as proposed a code of conduct for crypto exchanges and outlined the potential consequences of a complete ban on digital assets.

\”The industry has largely begun self-regulation and the implementation of KYC procedures to combat illegal activity. We have created a unified procedure that all exchanges adhere to,\” said Satvik Vishwanath, head of the Unocoin platform, in comments to the publication.\”

According to him, from 2015 to 2018, Unocoin and ZebPay had approached the RBI several times.

\”They did not disclose what they wanted. They received our documents, listened to us, but that was it,\” Vishwanath lamented.

In 2018 India banned banks and financial institutions from providing services to companies working with cryptocurrencies. In March 2020, the Supreme Court overturned this directive.

In December, the Central Bureau of Economic Intelligence of India proposed to tax cryptocurrency trading under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 18%.

In February 2021, Bloomberg reported that authorities would ensure a smooth transition to banning digital assets and would allow holders to close positions. Then Balaji Srinivasan, former Coinbase CTO, said this decision a $1 trillion mistake for India.

In March, according to one senior official, authorities would consider a bill introducing criminal and administrative liability for miners and traders.

In the same month, a Business Today source said that India was considering the possibility of blocking IP addresses of cryptocurrency exchanges and firms tied to digital assets.

Earlier, the Corporate Affairs Ministry mandated companies to report transactions involving digital assets, as well as advances or deposits, \”from any person\”.

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