After consultations with organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India is close to finalizing a consultation paper on cryptocurrencies, according to a government official.
- "Our consultation paper is almost ready," said Ajay Seth, secretary of the finance ministry's economic affairs department. "We have consulted extensively not only with domestic and institutional stakeholders, but also with organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank. We hope to be able to finalize our consultation paper soon. At the same time, we are also beginning work on some sort of global arrangement to determine what role India can play.
- It is unclear whether the consultation paper will affect the country's crypto legislation, which has yet to be submitted to parliament.
- Speaking to reporters, Seth sought to clarify comments that seemed to indicate a possible ban on cryptocurrencies in India.
- "Whatever we do, even if we take the extreme form, the countries that have decided to ban cannot succeed if there is no global consensus," he said.
- Seth said his intention was to convey that regardless of one country's stance - banning or regulating cryptocurrencies - "there has to be a broad framework and participation of all countries."
- "[The] prime minister made that point at the Sydney conference, and he's made that point at more than one forum," Seth said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keynote address at the Sydney Dialogue held last November.
- In a virtual speech at the World Economic Forum's annual conference in Davos in 2022, Modi reiterated his position, saying, "Cryptocurrencies exemplify the kind of challenges we face as a global family with a changing global order. To combat these, every nation, every global agency must act collectively and in sync," he said.
- The Indian crypto industry is suffering setbacks in the wake of a stringent new crypto tax, the bumpy local launch of crypto exchange Coinbase, a slump in trading volumes, payment processors shutting down exchanges, and growing concerns about the next phase of the new crypto tax - a 1% withholding tax that takes effect July 1.