Budget 2022: Here's what India's crypto industry looks forward to

From reports of getting banned to RBI announcing its own digital currency, cryptocurrency as a sector saw many ups and highs throughout 2021. It is due to this that crypto exchanges in India are looking forward to some clarity vis-à-vis the government’s regulatory framework on the same and classification of crypto as an asset class. They also want the government to allay any misconceptions around crypto and incentivize research in the fields of crypto and blockchain.
 
Here’s what the industry looks forward to in the upcoming Budget 2022-23:

“While the legal implementation still seems a while away, any initiative announced in the Budget would at least open a direct line of conversation on crypto classification as an asset class, its taxation policies and the blue-ocean opportunities available in this globally emerging segment,” CEO and founder of WazirX Nischal Shetty said.
 
Chief Business Officer of CoinSwitch Kuber, Sharan Nair also highlighted that crypto exchanges already follow strict self-regulatory practices to ensure customer safety on their platforms given the rise in crypto adoption in the country. Nair added that he hopes that the upcoming Budget will usher in regulatory clarity and help in standardising best practices and address misconceptions around crypto.
 
“We hope the upcoming Union Budget will bring in regulatory clarity and help standardise best practices, address misconceptions around this emerging asset class. We believe a regularized environment will encourage more Indians to start their crypto investing journey, promoting financial inclusion in line with the government’s vision,” he explained.
 
President of Blockchain technology firm Tezos India Om Malviya said that standardised regulatory framework for crypto and blockchain sectors will create more opportunities and use cases to be explored and unlocked at scale by India Inc. and start-ups and individuals are already trying to make inroads into this segment.
 
Since crypto and blockchain are emerging technologies, Malviya expects the government to encourage and incentivize research and development in upcoming public blockchain-oriented use-cases like NFTs, smart contracts and DeFis among others. Malviya said, “Given the immense economic and job creation potential of blockchain technology and Web3, pushing a few future ready proposals and incentives for R&D and product development around public blockchain-oriented use-cases such as NFTs, smart contracts, DeFI, etc. will also be welcome.”
 
Besides this, companies are also expecting the government to create administrative models that could leverage blockchain.

“The Union budget should include more resources to make our cities into more efficient, better governed, smart cities. We can create models in infinite ways, from more robust policing to e-voting, to more efficient ways to provide public services leveraging blockchain. The Union budget can aspire to not only reflect the value these services deliver day-to-day but to audit, be accountable, and find ways to provide a ground swell in adoption of blockchain technology in the meat and bones of the largest democracy in the world,” said co-founder and CEO of the blockchain network 5ire.
 
Also read: Union Budget 2022: Govt may mull TDS/TCS levy on cryptocurrency trading

Also read: Budget 2022: Govt should clarify taxability of cryptocurrencies