Discussions over the digital assets bill will soon decide if the Indian market is going to have crypto laws or not.

The Indian parliamentary committee on finance is likely to hold a meeting of top stakeholders of the crypto industry on Monday, November 15, 2021. The meeting, which is reported to be a closed-door one will have participants from top crypto exchanges and companies, along with the members of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BAAC). It is the first time that the committee has invited stakeholders to formally discuss the future of the industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting on the way forward on the issue, with the government officials reflecting upon the fact that such unregulated markets cannot be allowed to become revenues for income as it might also become avenues for money laundering and terror financing. The committee officials also expressed that, attempts to mislead the youths with over-promising and non-transparent advertisements should be stopped. This would involve putting legal curbs against misleading and non-transparent advertising.

This meeting was held after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) communicated its reservations on the use of cryptocurrencies. The central bank on Friday made its stance on digital currencies evident by stating that it has grave concerns about the effect of cryptos on the economic market of the country. RBI Governor Shantikanta Das has made it clear that it is the due diligence of the investors to make his/her decisions carefully. PM Modi held this review meeting after a long-drawn consultative process with the finance ministry, the home ministry, along the officials from RBI.

So, what does the future hold?

The center is all set to table the cryptocurrency bill for regulations in the Parliament in this winter session. But it is not the first time that the Indian government has pondered over the state of digital currencies in the country since its inception in 2013. It was only after 2016 that enthusiastic crypto investors gave digital currencies a chance to take their place in India.

Over the years, the government has realized that the mania for cryptocurrencies might offer an economic opportunity if regulated and the crypto leaders in the country might become the big new employers, and the earnings from the asset could expand the tax net. The bill on cryptocurrencies might also be directed towards taxing the earnings from the investors.

Digital currencies have gained great popularity over the past decade. It is only a matter of time that the cryptos open unprecedented opportunities for the Indian economic market and its investors.