India: Supreme Court eyes crypto regulatory limbo, asks govt to make up its mind

ambcrypto.com:

The Government of India has been providing an incoherent stance on cryptocurrency regulation and legalization for years now, which has left most investors dizzy. Since the country’s central bank banned digital asset usage completely in 2018, companies have been moving out of India to set up shop elsewhere. Meanwhile, even as the ban was later revoked, the Reserve Bank of India has been consistently calling for one, citing issues of consumer safety and market integrity.

On the other hand, the government is yet to provide its official stance on the legality of the asset class, even after repeated calls across the industry to do. However, this might soon change with judicial pressure now acting as momentum for the government to make up its mind.

During a court hearing related to a Bitcoin scam earlier today, the Supreme Court of India asked the government to “make their stand clear” on whether cryptocurrencies are illegal or not, according to local media. While the government representative replied that this will be done in due time, a long-awaited bill regarding cryptocurrency regulation is yet to make it to the parliament.

The GainBitcoin scam in question involved a multi-level marketing scheme that promised 10% monthly returns on bitcoin investments, evaluated to have raked in around $2.65 billion.

While such crimes might play into the RBI’s argument of rampant crime within the digital asset industry, experts have earlier claimed that regulation would in fact put a curb to such illegal activities.

Regardless of this, the Supreme Court’s insistence came shortly after India imposed a 30% tax on virtual asset income last month, which includes any gains made from cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Even as they were dejected by the high