India’s tryst with cryptocurrencies has been ongoing for a long time now and the negative stance perpetuated in the country has also become a big issue. This has not stopped cryptocurrency organizations and proponents from clearing the air about the industry.
In a recent letter to the Financial Minister of India, the CEO of the cryptocurrency trading platform CoinDCX spoke about how the digital assets industry can become a major part of the country’s next Union budget.
Sumit Gupta, the chief executive of CoinDCX urged FM Nirmala Sitharaman to keep an open mind about digital assets and look at it as an opportunity. Gupta added that the goal was to create a dynamic industry that would run parallel to the traditional economy. He reassured the minister that cryptocurrencies were not planning to usurp the position held by fiat currencies but rather complement it. In his words:
“India has been presented with the chance to be a part of a new wave of innovation, which is a tremendous opportunity to bolster the strength of our future economy. Just as the internet fundamentally altered the way we live and work, cryptocurrencies have the potential to change the way we participate in the global financial system.”
The CoinDCX official opined that at a time when other countries were receiving billions of dollars in fintech investments, India was barely scratching the surface. He took the example of Singapore, a burgeoning economy that received $53 billion just in the fintech industry. Looking at the numbers, India only received a mere 0.02 percent of Singapore’s total holdings.
In the letter, Gupta tried to convince Nirmala Sitharaman about the socio-economic advantages of crypto in India. He claimed that the agricultural sector in India can greatly benefit from microfinance portals and smart contract-based supply chains. The implementation of such models is expected to lead to greater traceability and convenience during transfers.
According to Gupta, the implementation of blockchain technology will result in greater collaboration between the public and private sectors. He reiterated that the opportunity presented by crypto should not be passed upon by a growing economy like India. The country is still in the midst of figuring out how to deal with digital assets, with the Supreme Court overseeing the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India has directed all the banks to not deal with cryptocurrencies. The main reasons cited for this ban was that cryptocurrencies could be used for ‘terror financing’ and blatant money laundering. To counter this notion, the CoinDCX CEO suggested measures such as penal frameworks and KYC implementation across the fintech industry. The Finance Minister was told that clear guidelines were imperative for the industry to thrive, guidelines created on proper facts and information.
Nirmala Sitharaman has not responded to the letter yet but crypto proponents were anxious to see what her reply might be. At a time when tensions were high in the country, a public letter from a crypto personality is seen as a step in the right direction for the industry.