The Indian government stated in a recent declaration to Lok Sabha that there is no fixed timeline for the rollout of the comprehensive set of regulatory guidelines for virtual assets.

The government’s response followed queries posed by two Members of Parliament on what steps were being taken to set up a structured regulatory framework along with an expected timeline for such regulations.

Although the administration noted that it consulted with industry stakeholders and relevant international organizations both formally and informally, it asserted that policy efforts on VDA are needed globally in order to avoid regulatory arbitrage to ANI. India seeks to have effective regulation of borderless crypto assets emerge only through deep international cooperation. 

As taxation on VDA-related income already exists and with VDA transactions brought under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act since March 2023, the government said crypto assets are borderless and thus require international cooperation to prevent regulatory arbitrage. The adoption of the “G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets” during India’s G20 Presidency brought forth the pressing need for collaborative action at the global level while urging all jurisdictions, especially emerging economies, to develop risk-sensitive regulation.

However, challenges linger as India navigates the path of innovation and investor protection alongside economic strength and financial stability. Given that VDAs transcend borders, the investor protection framework is seen as lacking without robust international cooperation. A clear regulatory timeline leaves market participants with clarity to contend with, as policies rooted in national interest as well as shifting global consensus about how to regulate digital assets continue to take shape.

These latest developments uphold a rising vulnerability in India’s quickly changing crypto sector. While it leads many countries in grassroots digital asset adoption, its popularity has also put it at the top of the list for many fraudsters.

The Andhra Pradesh scam, the most recent in a string of high-profile crypto-related frauds, fits a mold that has emerged elsewhere this year in India, where the lure of appealing monthly returns and aggregates framed as affiliated to reputable exchanges have brought investors from all backgrounds into elaborate enterprises.