By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 17th, 2024
Sitharaman has always had reservations about crypto, clamouring for the need for global regulators to take a cautious approach to the asset class.
India has plans to create a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will govern the use and transfer of crypto all over the world. According to the country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the plans will be hatched during the nation’s tenure as G20 president. That is between 1st December 2022, and 30th November 2023.
Sitharaman has always had reservations about crypto. She earlier mentioned the need for global regulators to take a cautious approach to cryptocurrencies, citing the dangers that may come along with mainstream adoption. However, more recently, she mentioned to reporters that crypto will be a big part of India’s agenda during its G20 presidency.
She mentioned that studies are currently ongoing as nations continue to understand crypto in their individual ways. According to her, the outcomes of those studies will be put together and deliberated upon to create a framework. She said in part:
“Hopefully… we will arrive at a framework or SOP, so that globally, countries can have a technology driven regulatory framework.”
On several occasions, Sitharaman has insisted that crypto poses a threat to global financial stability. And seeing as crypto has always been closely linked to the global economic state, her call for collective efforts toward crypto regulation may be understandable.
For what it’s worth, however, there is no better platform for India to advance its views of crypto than the G20. The group is a global conference where member nations meet to address topical issues related to the global economy.
Effective crypto regulation requires a collective effort
According to Sitharaman, no single country can effectively handle crypto on its own. And interestingly, the G20 nations appear to agree with that thought, according to an earlier report by Coinspeaker.
Sitharaman admits that nations can regulate platforms and trading, at least, to an extent. But then, she also believes there is no saying what purposes cryptocurrencies are being used for by individuals.
For the skepticism that surrounds crypto and its use, however, nations like India are opting to develop their individual CBDCs. That is a central bank-issued digital currency.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published a list of features for its CBDC (e-rupee) on October 7 in a 51-page document. The country also shared the rationale behind its decision to create the CBDC. According to India, safety and trust on the part of consumers are some of its biggest motivations. Other motivations for its CBDC include liquidity, reduced operational costs and more financial inclusion across its population. Meanwhile, the RBI plans to roll out the e-rupee soon in a testing phase.