Highlighting the need for a global consensus on cryptocurrency regulation, India’s Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that any move to regulate crypto without worldwide consensus will not be effective. “The underlying principle is, because the digital currencies are completely digitalized and technology-driven, the technology which is very distributed, and sometimes identity is very difficult to be established, but which has potential, it will therefore have to be acted upon only with all countries coming on board, or else it will not be effective,” Sitharaman said.
The Minister made the statement during an interaction with the Thinkers Forum, Karnataka, which was prompted by a question regarding the regulation of digital or crypto currencies. The event was held between February 24-25 in Bengaluru.
Sitharaman further noted that the G20 and OECD have reached an understanding on the matter, and organisations such as the IMF and World Bank are also involved. She suggested that it may be necessary to create an overall template, and that “all of us will have to work together on it, otherwise regulating crypto may not be effective.”
The Minister did not mean to suggest that “distributed leadger technology” is being controlled, as it has its own goodness and potential. She also highlighted that the global community today is observing the way India navigated through the pandemic, and stated that inflation rate in India is largely “imported”, with fuel and fertilizer prices being high. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has taken steps to ensure that the people of India will not suffer.
