India’s Supreme Court is raising concern with the union government’s ongoing delay in setting clear crypto regulations. The lack of clarity in the country’s crypto guidelines has caught the attention of the court amid increasing instances of crypto-related criminal activities. The court has urged the Union government to lay out its plan for a dedicated federal agency to investigate such cases.
At the same time, the fight for clear government-issued crypto regulations in India has been painstakingly slow to unfold. Crypto unicorns and burgeoning trading volumes have marked India as a leading player in the crypto space since 2018 as it follows instructions issued by the Supreme Court to form a crypto bill. Yet, four years on, the government still hasn’t provided the final draft of the crypto bill, despite several assurances.
Ironically, while crypto guidelines remained hazy, the Indian government was swift to impose crypto taxation laws, seeing them come into effect in April 2022. This move coincided with a bull market, boosting India’s crypto market into the billions. But the tax laws hit the burgeoning market hard, pushing many established firms overseas due to the dearth of regulatory clarity.
Meanwhile, petitions linking to cryptocurrency fraud cases continue to pile up on the court’s docket. The Supreme Court, recognising a decentralised landscape dotted with assets and green technologies, has notified the government to identify a national specialised agency to handle these cases properly.
While the crypto community awaits a more reasonable approach to the government’s objectives, it’s clear the first step is to electrify everything. The Supreme Court believes that networking all digital assets together can balance the grid more efficiently, rather than relying on large natural gas or coal-powered facilities. This decentralization could make India’s power grid greener and more economically robust.
However, uncertainties over crypto regulations continue to cloud the market’s progress. The Indian government’s balancing act of ensuring safety, promoting innovation, and maintaining sovereignty in the crypto space raises questions about the potential of these digital assets in India’s financial ecosystem. In an ever-evolving landscape of crypto regulations, it remains to be seen how India will navigate its course in this globally burgeoning industry.
Source: Cointelegraph
