The committee, which is led by Lok Sabha member and former junior minister for finance Jayant Sinha, has invited India’s top crypto exchanges, members of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), and analysts for the discussion. The BACC is part of the Internet and Mobile Association of India.
This is the first time the committee has invited stakeholders to discuss the industry “officially”, according to people aware of the matter, even as the industry has aggressively engaged in backchannel conversations with the government over the past year.
“From RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India’s) ban in 2018 to now, this seems to be a positive step because this is the first time public consultation is officially happening,” one of the people said.
This is seen as a significant development also because the government was considering an outright ban on virtual currencies as recently as early this year.
The committee has reached out to top crypto exchanges with a set of questions ahead of Monday’s meeting. It has asked about the potential of the crypto industry to contribute to India’s digital ambition. Another core point of discussion will be crypto’s impact on the stability of the Indian rupee. Exchanges have also been asked about their trading volume.
The meeting will be held in the parliament building on Monday, ahead of the winter session. The agenda is defined as: “Hearing of the views of associations, industry experts on the subject of ‘CryptoFinance’: Opportunities and Challenges.”
A second person said the planned meeting with the committee signalled the seriousness to include the stakeholders before the draft Bill on cryptocurrency is tabled.
Top officials within the government, finance ministry and the Niti Aayog have been informally meeting members of the crypto industry this year and engaging in policy discussions.
ET
reported on November 8 that the government was considering a middle path on cryptocurrencies, as it finalises legislation on the virtual asset. The Bill is expected to be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
At present, there are no laws that govern the nascent industry, which has witnessed unprecedented retail investor adoption this year. Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX have 10 million and 5 million users, respectively.
