The Indian government is studying how other countries have regulated the asset class before drafting laws for the industry, the secretary for economic affairs Ajay Seth told local media.
See related article: Crypto regulation has to ‘take its time’: India FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Fast facts
- “Our consultation paper is fairly ready. We have gone into a deep dive into this,” Seth told reporters on the sidelines of an event on May 30.
- India’s finance ministry is reportedly consulting with the IMF, the World Bank, the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India on a regulatory framework for digital assets.
- India taxed cryptocurrency transactions at a flat 30% from April but that doesn’t make crypto legal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted.
- The Reserve Bank of India has repeatedly called for an outright ban on cryptocurrencies, calling the asset class a threat to the country’s financial stability.
- The introduction of the flat tax in April has hit the Indian crypto industry with trade volumes dipping the most in years followed by the withdrawal of support from a ubiquitous payments platform. A further 1% tax-deducted-at-source will be effective July 1 on transactions exceeding INR 10,000 (US$129).
See related article: India to make life hell for crypto investors: MP