India’s largest bitcoin and cryptocurrency Ashish Singhal, CEO of CoinSwitch, spoke to Reuters.
Indian Government Should Set Clear Rules Regarding Cryptocurrencies
In a statement today, the CEO said that in India, rules on cryptocurrencies should be established in order to remove regulatory uncertainty, protect investors and stimulate the crypto industry.
Although India’s central bank supported a ban, claiming that cryptocurrencies pose a threat to financial stability, the federal government’s taxation of crypto investments has been interpreted in favor of the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country.
Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch and a former Amazon engineer, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos:
“Users do not know what will happen to their assets, will the government ban cryptoassets or not, how will they be regulated?”
With a total valuation of $1.9 billion, CoinSwitch says it is the largest crypto company in India with over 18 million users. Headquartered in India’s main technology hub, Bengaluru, the firm is supported by individuals and companies such as Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures.
Singhal claimed that “with regulation, peace and greater clarity will come.”
Heavy Taxes on Crypto Assets in India
Blockchain and cryptocurrency companies are showing great attendance at this year’s Davos meeting, which coincides with a time when crypto prices are falling.
While the Reserve Bank of India has expressed “serious concerns” about cryptocurrencies, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said in December that “such new technologies should be used to strengthen democracy, not undermine it.”
Exchanges in India often have trouble partnering with banks to transfer funds.
Singhal said that while the moves regarding taxation and some advertising regulations in the country have brought some relief, there is still much to be done and has demanded the development of laws regarding cryptoassets in India.
According to the Coinswitch CEO, these laws should set standards on issues such as authentication and crypto asset transfers. In addition, according to Singhal, India should also establish a mechanism to monitor crypto transactions and report them to the authorities when necessary.
While there is no official data on the size of India’s crypto market, CoinSwitch said the number of investors is up to 20 million, with total assets of around $6 billion.
*Not investment advice.