Crypto companies seek dialogue with government
The government had formed an Inter-Ministerial Committee, which has given its report on issues related to virtual currencies.
The uncertainty about the future of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, has grown manifold as the bill on crypto currencies is being finalised and it will soon be send to the Cabinet.
RBI and SEBI do not have any legal framework to directly regulate cryptocurrencies as they are not currencies, assets, securities or commodities issued by identifiable users. The existing laws are inadequate to deal with issues concerning them.
Rahul Pagidipati, CEO at ZebPay on the digital currency bill announcement, said, “We hope the Lok Sabha members and advisors will consult crypto and blockchain companies as they make their decisions. 7 million Indians have already invested in this new asset class. Millions more want the same opportunity to build wealth that investors in other countries already have. We have faith in the government and hope that this bill will move India forwards, not backwards.”
Nischal Shetty, founder, WazirX, in an interview with Money9, had said he was hopeful of having positive discussions on the cryptocurrency bill.
“We can now help the government in formulating the regulation. This is something that we have seen in other countries also. So there are countries where they have started working on the bill it’s been presented, but it’s not being passed. Why? Because there will always be a lot of debate around. And I think now we can hope for new debates around this bill. I am pretty confident that India will regulate it positively. This is a positive move.”
One of the bones of contention is the definition of private currencies, as the government has the intention to ban them. Shetty, said “This term private cryptocurrency is not really a term that is used in the crypto ecosystem globally or in India anywhere. For example, Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, is more like a public cryptocurrency on a public blockchain and it is not owned by any one company to be called as a private cryptocurrency. So the definition of private cryptocurrency will have to be seen and how exactly this is defined. And then probably we’ll have more clarity.”
The government had formed an Inter-Ministerial Committee which has given its report on issues related to virtual currencies. There was also a meeting of the Empowered Technology Group. The Committee of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary has also given its report.
Pagidipati, agrees on the issue of private currencies, “The digital currency bill to be introduced before the Lok Sabha is a welcome step forward. Its success will depend on the details, particularly the definition of what the bill calls “private cryptocurrencies”. This is not a common term. Bitcoin is not privately owned by anyone. It is a public good, like the internet.
(PTI has contributed for this story)
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