Indian Lawmakers Are Finally Engaging with the Country’s Crypto Industry

This article discusses how Indian lawmakers are getting involved with the crypto industry

The Indian crypto industry staged a near-coup on Saturday by inviting Indian lawmakers and members of India's ruling party to a Web3 conference.

With support from the industry's policy body, Bharat Web3, and media outlet Forbes, Indian exchange CoinDCX invited lawmakers to an event called "Namaste Web3" at one of New Delhi's five-star luxury hotels to discuss India's G-20 presidency and potential Web3 opportunities.

National Vice President Baijayant Panda and former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, both prominent members of India's ruling party, attended the conference. It brought a deputy leader of the lower house of the parliament and the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on commerce from the opposition benches.

Even though lawmakers and government officials have discussed a wide range of topics with the industry in private, this is the first time they have appeared in public to lend the sector new legitimacy.

Prasad, a former information technology minister, stated, "Web3 is important with caution… come out of the shadow of crypto."

"Blockchain is greatly supported by me. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is entirely different. Let me make this very clear. Because there are concerns about India's financial sovereignty in crypto, Prasad said, adding that Web 3 must devise its methods for decoupling from crypto.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a member of the opposition who serves as the chair of the country's parliamentary committee on commerce, stated that he was not present on the stage as the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on commerce but rather as a fan of Web3.

"One of the biggest factors in bringing India's dream of becoming a US$5 trillion economy to fruition could be Web 3. The perception of Web3 and its use has been impacted by the negative focus on cryptocurrency, which was somewhat obsessive in the earlier years.