Stablecoins: How we could lead the digital evolution of finance

These tokens aren't a threat to the rupee but tickets to leadership if regulation and innovation converge to serve that purpose

- ARVIND GUPTA & AAKASH GUGLANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s consecutive addresses at the Global Fintech Festival (GFF)—this year alongside the UK's PM—reflect how central fintech has become to India’s global economic engagement. His continued participation underscores that fintech is no longer periph-cral but integral to India’s digital diplomacy and its ambition to shape the global financial architecture.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have reiterated that India will not support cryptocurrencies without sovereign or asset backing. Both leaders have highlighted that the next phase of fintech growth will be driven by Al and blockchain, where innovation advances within clear monetary and regulatory guardrails. Together, their remarks frame India’s strategic choice: shape a blockchain-based fintech future through its own digital public infrastructure and regulatory foresight—or risk capital flight and diminished digital sovereignty in an evolving global order.

Stablecoins and anew monetary architecture: Many analysts once viewed stablecoins and blockchain technology asa challenge to banking systems. Yet, the debate has shifted. Stablecoins are now seen asa complement to traditional banking infrastructure—an upgrade that carries liquidity, trust and compliance across borders. In our article “Reduce friction: Let regulated stablecoins transform India’s remittance economy,’ we argued that stablecoins can serve as the “missing layer” in India's financial stack—bridging the domestic interoperability of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the global flow of remittances.