Frame Crypto Policy Within A Month, SC Tells Govt

In a move that has revived the hopes of the crypto currency industry in India, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed the Centre to come up with a policy within the next four weeks or a month. The apex court also mentioned that in case the government fails to come up with any policy within the said time-frame, it will pass a final judgment on the basis of the cases filed and arguments presented before the court so far.

While the SC’s direction has brought some respite to crypto players in the country, it has also created apprehensions regarding the final judgment.

The current move by the top court was welcomed by various industry players. Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency start-up WazirX, which is into P2P trading of crypto assets, told BusinessLine: “It is a good development, and we are hoping that the Centre submits a draft of the report. It will help bring more clarity and because right now no one has any idea what the government’s stand is towards the crypto industry.”

Shetty further added that the the government should either include the industry players in framing a policy or take some feedback. The government had, last year, created an interdisciplinary committee, led by the Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, which, according to sources, is in the final stages of drafting a regulation for crypto assets in the country.

Kashif Raza, a crypto industry expert and co-founder of Cryptokanoon, a legal content start-up for cryptos, said: “The government will now be forced to expedite the process and come out with a policy.”

This is also the first time that the court has directed the Centre and fixed a timeline to a matter. The court was hearing the case pertaining to several cryptocurrency matters that were clubbed into one in May, 2017.

While a few matters were regarding public litigation filed in different High Courts questioning the legality of cryptocurrencies, a few were petitions filed by crypto-exchanges and IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) against a circular by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In all, about six exchanges in the country, had taken a legal recourse to challenge an RBI circular, issued in April last year, that had barred banks and other regulated financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrency entities operating in the country. The move had, thus, brought the once burgeoning sector to a grinding halt and led to the emergence of a grey market. Many legal experts in the country have also questioned the RBI move of passing a directive without giving any valid reason or justification.