According to reports, the Indian government could impose restrictions on cryptocurrency wallets that are not in India’s custody and allow only Indian-based crypto exchanges. One Indian CEO shared his opinions on these possible restrictions. Indian authorities have proposed a cryptocurrency bill that would be debated in parliament’s current session.
Indian Crypto Regulations: Restrictions Possible
In India, a cryptocurrency bill has been submitted for consideration at the present session. The country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has confirmed that the bill needed to be reworked from its original version that seeks to ban cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin in ether. However, she still has not revealed what’s actually in the bill, leading to much speculation.
Wazirx’s CEO discussed speculations via a series tweets on Friday.
“There have been unconfirmed reports” that “‘Self custodial wallets’ may not be allowed as part of India’s crypto bill,” Wazirx CEO Nischal Shetty detailed. There have also been reports that “Only Indian exchanges can be used,” the CEO added, elaborating:
I don’t believe you can prohibit the use of software. Software is not self-custodial wallets. Many decentralized services cannot be used if self custodial accounts are not available.
He stressed that “As an industry, we would never recommend this.”
The CEO continued: “If we want regulation then services that are regulated need to be in India. These services need to follow the rules & regulations of our country.” He noted, “Every nation that’s regulating crypto is following a similar approach,” emphasizing that “All exchanges can register [their] company in India as well.”
Shetty shared his thoughts on whether crypto regulations should be applied only to Indian exchanges.
Centralised crypto service providers will be expected to comply with Indian law. It’s the least to expect from any company that services Indians.
He further opined: “We strongly support competition. The competition will kick out any product or service that isn’t up to par. Competition should be fair. When regulations come in, every exchange will have to follow it & compete. Let’s build the best crypto ecosystem in India.”
Wazirx’s executive concluded that:
The Indian cryptocurrency ecosystem will grow quickly if there is positive regulation. We’re seeing good progress with crypto regulations.
Indian officials have listed cryptocurrency legislation that will be discussed in winter session. This week, the country’s finance minister answered some questions about cryptocurrency legislation that’s been proposed by the government. The Cabinet note suggested that government officials are not looking to ban cryptocurrency but rather to regulate it.
Is India going to allow crypto wallets that can be used as self-custodial? Please leave your comments below.
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