Indian Government Finalizing Crypto Consultation Paper — 'We Are Looking at a Global Paradigm on Digital Assets'

India Finalizing Consultation Paper on Crypto Regulation — Official Says 'We Are Looking at a Global Paradigm on Digital Assets'

India’s economic affairs secretary has reportedly revealed that the government’s consultation paper on cryptocurrency is “fairly ready.” He explained that the Indian government is looking at “a global paradigm on digital assets,” emphasizing that “There has to be a broad framework on which all economies have to be together.”

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on Crypto

Indian Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth provided an update Monday on the government’s progress to establish India’s crypto policy.

Speaking about the government’s consultation paper on crypto, he was quoted by CNBC TV18 as saying:

Our consultation paper is fairly ready and we went into a deep dive and have consulted not just the domestic institutional stakeholders but also the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

“So we hope that we will soon be in a position to finalize our consultation paper,” the economic affairs secretary added.

In April, Bitcoin.com News reported that Indian finance ministry officials discussed a crypto regulatory framework with various stakeholders, including the IMF, the World Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The IMF noted a the time that crypto assets are high on the agenda for India.

Seth also discussed “digital assets” in a broader sense Monday. He described: “Whatever way we want to deal with those assets, there has to be a broad framework on which all economies have to be together.”

The government official stressed: “This point has been made time and again. Even other countries are talking about the same thing. The IMF is also talking about the same thing, as is the U.S. treasury.” He noted:

We are looking at a ‘global paradigm’ on digital assets.

Seth then brought up the need for a global consensus on cryptocurrencies. He affirmed that India will consider regulations enforced in other countries before establishing its own crypto policy, elaborating:

For any country, if there’s global consensus around the regulations, then again there has to be a broad framework of participation of countries.

In April, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decision regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies will not be rushed. “It has to take its time for all of us to be sure that at least, with the given available information, we are making a discerned decision,” she detailed.

What do you think about the comments by Indian Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.