India among top crypto adopters. Will it alarm govt to expedite regulations?

As per the report, every fourteenth Indian invested in the new age asset despite the covid-19 pandemic.

The report highlighted how the adoption of crypto had increased exponentially during the Covid pandemic globally and especially in emerging economies like India, according to Mohammed Roshan, CEO & Co-founder, GoSats.

“The report clearly mentions remittances and the fact that crypto was perceived as a way to protect household savings were the main reasons for the rise in adoption in emerging economies,” said Roshan.

India was ranked sixth in crypto adoption. Only two developed nations were featured in the top 10 – Singapore at fourth and the United States at the sixth spot.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO, Giottus Crypto Platform said that the high-level crypto adoption has benefitted many investors. He suggested that the asset may grow and head towards maturity in the upcoming years.

The crypto bull run of 2021 attracted a lot of retail and institutional investors to take a dip into the lucrative world of crypto assets, driving the growth of crypto investments in India with seasoned investors, according to the experts.

However, the rise in the adoption of crypto assets may raise some red flags for the government, which is in discussions and deliberations for the regulatory framework of the private crypto assets in the country.

The Reserve Bank of India has vocally criticized these assets on various platforms, whereas the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently froze bank assets of trading platforms such as WazirX and Vauld.

The UNCTAD report highlighted the risks and costs of crypto and suggested seeking extra caution from governments. However, market participants said that there is nothing to worry about and all crypto transactions are in the ambit of the related agencies.

Any crypto regulation should straddle technological challenges and the global, boundless operational challenges, according to Subburaj from Giottus. “However, crypto, as of now, remains an individual, entity, or private risk,” he said.

Roshan from GoSats said that the government is aware of the rising crypto adoptions and that is why the Bill is on the cards. He added that the industry is at the nascent stage and the centre should understand its potential along with the challenges.

As there is a rise in crypto investment in India, market trackers said that the government should fast-track its crypto Bill to frame the regulations in the interest of all the stakeholders.

Shivam Thakral, CEO, BuyUcoin, said that the government had been doing its best as a policy maker for the crypto industry. “The new crypto tax regime has made the crypto transaction transparent and traceable for the government,” he said.

“India’s crypto industry is too big to ignore and a strong, business-friendly policy for the crypto industry will enable investors to trade with confidence and boost the morale of the young workforce willing to make a career in this space,” he added.

Tarusha Mittal, COO, and Cofounder, UniFarm, said that Web3 is the tech of the future, and India does not want to be left behind.

“The world is moving at a fast pace when it comes to the adoption of crypto and blockchain and India should not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of becoming the blockchain capital of the world,” she added.