India delays crypto discussion paper due to other priorities

India has not published a discussion paper on cryptocurrency outlining its policy stance on the market, reportedly because the financial authorities are concentrating on other priorities.

Reportedly, the centre had to prioritise other matters as the nation is brimming with events like election and announcement of budget, meetings with other nations and the impending World Bank annual meetings.

This comes after the nation was initially expected to publish its policy stance on cryptocurrencies by September following consultations with stakeholders including the central bank and the markets regulators. According to reports, the discussion paper will be published but the timeline is not decided.

The discussion paper would have been a step towards bringing comprehensive crypto legislations that the country currently does not have in place.

India’s crypto regulation

India does not have any specific legislation or regulatory framework in place to govern crypto transactions. This legal vacuum creates ambiguity and challenges that shroud the crypto market.

While the nation lacks a uniform law for regulating the industry, India was recently at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) pushing for online gaming companies to be included under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework. The centre will be bringing up the issue for discussion by illustrating cases that highlight the misuse of online gaming platforms wherein they have been used for illegal activities like money laundering.

The government had also initiated internal discussions to actively explore the means to enforce stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and the mandatory reporting of suspicious activities by online gaming companies.