Crypto Regulation Offers India An Opportunity That Must Be Seized

Livemint     18th March 2021     Save    

Context: The proportionate, proactive, participative and process-driven regulation of crypto-currencies will aid the success of Digital India.

Opportunities in hand

  • Being part of global trend: Central banks around the world, from the European Central Bank to China’s and Turkey’s, are in the process of issuing CBDCs.
    • Upholds RBI’s monetary sovereignty: Exclusive power of the state over legal tender.
    • Co-existence and innovation: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated that private and public money can coexist and in complementary rather than contradictory roles.
  • Applications of blockchain in ‘regtech’: For regulators to capture and store data, in automated risk management, and for the facilitation of regulatory reporting etc.
  • Inherent benefits: Can make financial services more accessible, cost-effective, efficient, interoperable and scope for innovation.
  • Financial inclusion: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report highlighted the potential for financial inclusion of the technology.

Risks associated with crypto-currency

  • No intrinsic value: Lack of backing by a tangible asset; thus they have only virtual market value.
  • Risk of market manipulation: As price, discovery is in uncharted territory.
  • Concerns of information asymmetry, hacking vulnerability and fire sales: Threat to systemic stability.
  • Risks of money laundering: FATF report underlined crypto anonymity and layering.
  • Threats of virtual ban: Tend to push activity underground, which allows for abuse and almost impossible to implement.

Way Forward:

  • Mitigation of associated risks: Through a combination of traditional and non-traditional methods, including customer identification, verification and transaction-monitoring prerequisites.
    • Focus on consumer protection to systemic safety through micro and macro-prudential regulation of private digital tokens, upholding fair market conduct, data privacy and operational resilience.
  • Regulate private digital currency:
    • Uphold principles of proportionality and proactiveness: Supreme Court struck down RBI’s ban of cryptocurrencies, stating that regulatory powers must be exercised upholding proportionality.
    • Participative regulatory governance: Private cryptos can be tested in a controlled environment, such as a regulatory sandbox or RBI’s Innovation Hub. (providing an iterative learning process)