India’s crypto regulatory landscape has witnessed several announcements this year.
The Orissa court ruling spiked global interests as it pronounces the country’s stance in the sector.
The Orissa High Court in India recently stated in a Ponzi scheme accusation case, that crypto trading is not illegal. The announcement has pronounced the country’s stand on cryptocurrency amidst recent regulations discussions. According to sources, the case included two individuals who were accused of defrauding people through a Ponzi or multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme.
Notably, Justice Sasikanta Mishra stated that cryptocurrency cannot be considered money under the “Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act”. In addition, the judge also cited the state law, ‘Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act (OPID)’ excluding from the act as well.
The judge stated:
“Mere dealing in cryptocurrency cannot be treated as illegal in any manner. Hence, it cannot be treated as offence under the OPID Act.”
This ruling comes amid developments in the sector both nationally in India and on a global level. Recently several countries have initiated discussions of a crypto regulatory framework. Uzbekistan has begun developing regulatory laws since the beginning of this year.
Moreover, Zimbabwe on Wednesday announced that it would be asking for public input for formatting regulatory laws. Taiwan recently launched a crypto industry association to progress its cryptocurrency regulation law.
How Does India’s Crypto Regulatory Landscape Look Like?
The Indian cryptocurrency landscape has seen recent developments with a consistent influx in traders and regulatory announcements from the government. Meanwhile, the crypto regulations within the nation are still under development.
In 2020, the Indian Supreme Court lifted the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ban on cryptocurrency. This was an important turning point within India’s crypto regulatory landscape.
Following this, the year 2022 saw the government announcing a 30% taxation for cryptocurrency. The imposition of tax precedes crypto being recognized as a legal tender in India. Moreover, recently the Finance Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India lifted its ban on the crypto exchange Kucoin.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced in May 2024 that it would want multiple regulators to oversee crypto trading. This is in contrast to RBI’s stance that digital assets are ‘macroeconomic risks.’
Highlighted Crypto News Today:
U.S Bitcoin ETFs See $226.2M Net Outflow, BlackRock’s IBIT Defies Trend