Crypto exchanges urge government to define various crypto assets

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With the government looking to table the cryptocurrency bill in the Parliament during this Budget session, crypto exchanges are lobbying for definition of different types of crypto assets, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday.

At present, the government is planning to create a broad framework around crypto assets which would give them a legal credence in India.

Need more clarity on the bill

According to the publication, several cryptocurrency exchanges have reached out to the government directly or through their association to seek clarity and lobby around the bill. It also said that government will not be going into the details of sub categorising the crypto assets as per its use or based on the technology they use.

Initially, the plan was to categorise cryptocurrencies into various parts and specify what’s legal and what’s not. Now, the bill will only talk about a broad framework, without going into specifics, it said.

Though the work on fine tuning the proposed bill is currently on, the draft could require more clarity on defining different types of virtual currencies, according to industry insiders.

Originally the plan was to table the bill during the winter session, however that won’t be possible now. The government has reached out to some experts and regulators regarding the same.

The exchanges on their part want the government to at least differentiate between various crypto assets and technologies like NFT, decentralised finance and meme coins. According to the existing cryptocurrency bill draft, the government is looking to just put the basic framework in place without articulating the asset class or who will regulate the cryptocurrency.