The finance ministry of India is taking an interesting approach to digital tokens despite having a ban on cryptocurrencies; a new committee is examining the possibility of setting up a legitimized crypto token payment system.
A crypto token, not a cryptocurrency
Local news outlet DNA India reported that the new committee was also established under the chairmanship of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. He said, “The committee is studying the possibility of using cryptocurrencies or the crypto technology (distributed ledger technology) for financial transactions and also what kind of regulations are needed for that.”
The crypto tokens in question are a representation of money, which differs to the standard cryptocurrencies as they are treated as money equivalents; instead, these tokens will be utilized exclusively as a means for financial transactions in India.
President of the Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) said that in order to obtain these crypto tokens, people will have to pay physical money for them which removes any impacts on the country’s monetary policy.
Once purchased, tokens could be stored on mobile phone devices and potentially used as remittances. According to DNA India, a senior official at the ministry also said that the crypto token could “replace smart cards such as metro cards in the public sector to start with. Similarly, in the private sector, it can be used in loyalty programmes such as air miles where its use is limited to buying the next ticket and can’t be converted into money”.
This approach is rather specific in its application, though it does offer a view for crypto-positive future in India; however, according to DNA India sources, the official cryptocurrency ban is “likely to continue”.
Clarity needed
On 5 July 2018, India officially enacted a banking ban on cryptocurrency; it’s not an outright blanket ban like China’s but instead prevents practically all fiat to crypto trading, a move that for the most part affected exchanges.
Exchanges are allowed to continue operations as long as they remove all fiat trading pairs, limiting their platforms options to crypto-to-crypto trades, much like the exchanges in China were forced to do.
Interestingly, later that month, the law reform committee of India made recommendations for cryptocurrencies to be accepted as payment for online gambling and sports betting.
The legality of cryptocurrencies in India is a hotly discussed topic; blockchain related technologies in the country are receiving public and institutional support especially with regards to the workforce, with whom there is a growing sense of urgency for regulatory clarification.
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