In a recently held event organized by the Global Blockchain Business Council, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed her admiration for the potential that distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) such as blockchain offer. She stated that DLTs can help create potential pathways for wealth creation and transformation for households, companies and countries as a whole.

Sitharaman also called for global coordination among various nations on the issue of cryptocurrency. She emphasized that the regulation of cryptocurrencies does not necessarily equate to a control of the underlying technology but instead allows authorities to gain a better understanding of the sector.

The finance minister's remarks suggest a friendly stance towards the crypto industry when considering that India is home to an estimated eight million blockchain and cryptocurrency users, according to Bitcoinist. Despite its existing crypto user base, India does not yet have regulatory policies for crypto assets, The Times of India reports.

Sitharaman's call for international coordination further follows India’s ambitions to bring a common regulatory framework to the cryptocurrency space as part of its G20 Presidency. Earlier this month, India’s Inter-Ministerial Committee submitted a report to the Indian Ministry of Finance stating its objectives to develop policies that can help foster innovation while keeping in mind the potential risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

The Finance Minister's call for a global consensus highlights the need for each country to have clarity regarding the regulatory structure related to blockchain and cryptocurrency, the risks associated with the emerging asset class and the potential benefits they can bring to their respective economies.

India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently articulated her approval of distributed ledger technology (DLT), stating that the regulation of crypto does not necessarily mean government control of the technology. She highlighted the potential for DLT to be used to create pathways for wealth creation and transformation for households, companies and countries alike. Further, she called for global coordination within the crypto space, a move which follows India's ambition to bring a common regulatory framework to the cryptocurrency industry as part of its G20 presidency.

The insight provided by the finance minister makes it clear that a clear and widely recognized legal framework is necessary in order to create an environment of trust within the digital asset industry. As such, an international agreement on the regulation of cryptocurrencies could create an invaluable opportunity for the global economy.

Initiatives such as these, which seek to create a joint agreement between countries on cryptocurrency regulations, could prove to be essential in developing a common understanding of the digital asset space within all parts of the world. It could also help ensure that users of crypto assets are granted the necessary protections by regulating brokers and exchanges, thus boosting public trust in the cryptocurrency industry.



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