India calls for uniform crypto regulations as Asian markets grow amid boom and bust cycle

‘One country alone cannot do everything’ if regulation is required, says India’s financial minister as she leads the push for uniform rules in the group

New Delhi’s call is likely to resonate with Southeast Asia, a popular destination for crypto investors, after a string of high-profile collapses last year, observers say

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Asian investors have been shaken by crypto’s boom and bust cycles. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:30am, 16 Feb 2023Updated: 9:04am, 16 Feb 2023

Indian businessman Saurabh Tiwari’s interest in cryptocurrency grew after he made a significant profit on a bunch of different tokens within a few months of buying them in 2020. But the boom soon turned to bust following a series of events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the collapse of crypto exchange FTX last year.

“I am now down 60-70 per cent (on these investments). It does not make sense for me to get out,” says 29-year-old Pune-based Tiwari, who also lamented that India lacked a crypto market regulator to protect investors like him.

India, president of the Group of 20 (G20) this year, is leading the push for crypto regulation and is proposing uniform regulations across the group’s members. The move is likely to strike a chord especially after a string of crypto exchange failures, bankruptcies and fraud allegations last year spooked global investors.

“If it requires regulation, then one country alone cannot do anything,” India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi this week.

“We are talking with all nations, if we can make some standard operating procedure which is followed by everyone making a regulatory framework, and if it can be effective,” she said ahead of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in the country later this month.

The proposal to jointly regulate crypto markets is likely to be watched closely in Southeast Asia, a popular destination for crypto investors and entrepreneurs.