The Indian Finance Minister warns regulators about Crypto. Here’s what she said

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman argued that the government’s extra cautious nature towards crypto could be a risky choice that may curb “a futuristic thing”. She highlighted that the government is going through rigorous consultations on the issue of cryptocurrencies in India and that they are also considering the Reserve Bank of India’s POV.

“This is not an era where you can say I don’t care about what’s happening, or we don’t want to do anything. At the same time, are we yet ready to go the El Salvador way? We have to be sure that a futuristic thing can’t be shut out,”, Sitharaman told Hindustan Times.

Sitharaman asserted that India’s own cryptocurrency is not impossible, as the country’s technological and fintech infrastructure holds extreme potential. However, according to the Finance Minister, caution remains key to laying out a foolproof plan to incorporate the decentralized sphere into a nation’s economy. Yet, she added that it’s only a matter of what is most suitable for the country and that before adopting an anti-crypto stance, they should “think it through”

“We have to evolve something suitable for our systems. India has the strength of the technology; fintech gives us the command over the instrumentalities with which you can play; our economy is full of possibilities. So, we have to be cautious; but we have to think it through.”, said Sitharaman.

Crypto Tax in India

Earlier this month, the crypto community of India felt relieved as an ET report claimed that the government might tax crypto transactions and exchanges instead of an absolute ban. However, the taxation of crypto assets won’t make it an asset class. The report also contradicts recent comments made by the governor of the Indian Central Bank, Mr. Shaktikanta Das who argued that crypto-asset is a major concern.

“We have major concerns on cryptocurrency, which we have conveyed to the government. With regard to advice to investors, well, central banks don’t give any investment advice. It’s up to each investor to make his own appraisal, to do his own due diligence and take a very careful call with regard to his own investments.”, said Das.

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Journalism & Mass Comm. ‘21 graduate, Palak is a GenZ journalist with background in Lifestyle journalism & PR. At CoinGape, Palak is a junior crypto journalist preparing for Web 3.0