Namaste Tribe! This article is based on a note, contents of which are unclear. It’s not clear whether the finance ministry intends to work upon the old draconian crypto bill or whether they plan to work on bringing a new bill.

With over 5 Million young crypto enthusiasts, India is poised to gain a big share of the the $250+ Billion crypto market.

The crypto ecosystem and technology evolves quickly and it’s in India’s best interests to revisit the entire bill and think in the direction of innovation. Encouraging a fast growing industry is in India’s best interest.

We’re living in dangerous times where we have lost many lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The global economy has also taken a hit with majority of once-thriving industries in shambles. Crypto, on the other hand, has been generating jobs across a variety of functions — legal, compliance, tech, marketing, business development, finance, etc. — in India and abroad. There are top-notch projects that have come out of India. Imagine what we can achieve with positive regulation!

I’ve also said it before, that when it comes to regulating crypto, I’m positive that India will follow the footsteps of developed countries like Japan, USA, UK, Australia, and more. India has been on fence for a long time while most of the developed world has accepted and introduced positive regulations. The question that all of us and our government have to ask is, do we want to be in the company of green countries or red countries?

Currently, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is working on a code of conduct for cryptocurrency companies in India. We have a draft version ready and are working on updating the guidelines in line with the technology changes that have happened in the last few years. The code of conduct lays out a guideline for KYC/AML and other regulatory-related features. This helps curb the illegal activities as well as scams.

If the government is concerned about cryptos being used for criminal activities, a blanket ban is the wrong way to go about it. In fact, exchanges can help the law enforcement agencies as well as educate masses. Over the past few years, we have worked with domestic and international agencies to investigate frauds where cryptos were involved. Countries such as US, UK, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, EU region, etc. are tackling crypto in a similar way so that they foster innovation and fight crime at the same time.

All in all, I think there’s nothing to worry about the note as of now. I look forward to helping our government formulate the right crypto regulations given my on-ground experience working for the crypto ecosystem in India.

Jai Hind 🇮🇳

*Above content is migrated from medium to wazirx blog