DECRYPTING CRYPTO

THE BUSINE S S TODAY CRYPTO CONCLAVE , HELD IN NEW DELHI, SAW AN ASSORTMENT OF P OLICYMAKERS, CRYPTO INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS, AND INDEPENDENT EXPERTS DEBATE ON THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA

- ALOKESH BHATTACHARYYA

CRYPTO, CRYPTO, CRYPTO… the craze is all around us. This craze is matched only by the obscurity and worry that accompanies this new ‘asset’. So, when Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, calmly announced that everyone is free to invest in crypto assets through an RBI mechanism, the sigh of relief was palpable. “The Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) is the easiest way for an individual to invest in any asset he or she wants. And there is no disqualification from anybody owning a crypto asset as part of his portfolio of assets.”

This was probably the high point of the Business Today Crypto Conclave, which witnessed a series of stimulating debates around crypto assets on a pleasant March day at The Oberoi in New Delhi. The event was presented by CoinDCX.

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, a former Union minister of Law, Communications and IT, began the day by emphasising that crypto and blockchain are not the same: “We have never been against blockchain; in fact we encouraged blockchain technology, I think it will be and should be encouraged.” On crypto assets, he said the government is still consulting various stakeholders, and momentum would pick up very soon.