India‘s top crypto app CoinSwitch calls for regulatory ’peace, certainty

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Aditya Kalrap

pDAVOS, Switzerland Reuters – India must establish rules on cryptocurrencies to resolve regulatory uncertainty, protect investors and boost its crypto sector, CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal said on Sunday.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pAlthough Indias central bank has backed a ban on cryptocurrencies over risks to financial stability, a federal government move to tax income from them has been interpreted by the industry as a sign of acceptance by New Delhi.p

p“Users dont know what will happen with their holdings – is government going to ban, not ban, how is it going to be regulated？,” Singhal, a former Amazon engineer who cofounded CoinSwitch, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.p

pCoinSwitch, which is valued at 1.9 billion, says it is the largest crypto company in India with more than 18 million users. The firm, based in Indias main tech hub of Bengaluru, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global and Coinbase Ventures. p

p“Regulations will bring peace … more certainty,” he added.p

pBlockchain and cryptocurrency companies have a large presence at this years Davos meeting, which coincides with a period of crypto prices plummeting around the world. p

pIndias central bank has voiced “serious concerns” around private cryptocurrencies, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December said such emerging technologies should be used to empower democracy, not undermine it.p

pExchanges often struggle in India to partner with banks to allow transfer of funds and in April, CoinSwitch and some others disabled rupee deposits through a widelyused statebacked network, alarming investors.p

p‘CLARITY’p

pWhile moves on taxation and certain advertising regulation had brought some relief, a lot more needed to be done, Singhal said, adding that India should develop a set of laws.p

pThese should include norms for identity verification and transferring crypto assets, while for exchanges, India should put in place a mechanism for them to track transactions and report them to any authority if need be.p

pWhile no official data is available on the size of Indias crypto market, CoinSwitch estimates the number of investors at up to 20 million, with total holdings of about 6 billion.p

pRegulatory uncertainty has been widely felt. In April, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, launched in India, but within days paused use of a statebacked interbank fund transfer service.p

pCoinbase CEO Brian Armstrong later said in May the move was triggered due to “informal pressure” from Indias central bank.p

pCoinSwitch too has paused socalled UPI transfers to hold talks with banking partners and make them comfortable, Singhal said in the interview. He added CoinSwitch was is in talks with regulators to try and restart the transfer service.p

p“We are pushing for regulations. With the right regulation, we can get the clarity,” he said. p

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pp Reporting by Aditya Kalra in Davos Editing by Alexander Smithp

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