India Today Conclave 2024: Crypto assets cannot be legal currencies, says Finance MInister Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday made it clear that cryptocurrency assets cannot be currencies, saying that the government’s position on such assets has always been clear. She was responding to a question during a session at the India Today Conclave 2024.
When asked whether the government will reassess its position on cryptocurrencies amid the recent surge, she said, “Its position has always been this, that assets created in the name of crypto can be assets for trading, assets for money making and assets for many other things.”
“We haven’t regulated them then, and we haven’t regulated them now. But they cannot be currencies and that’s the Government of India’s position,” she added.
Full coverage of Conclave 2024
“Currencies are to be issued with a fiat of the government or the central bank of the day. And it is still unregulated in India. That is why we thought it fit to raise it in the G20 forum, because as it is so technology-driven, it will have a bearing on cross-border payments,” Nirmala Sitharaman added.
“If one country regulates it and others don’t, it will be an easy way of moving money, round-tripping, funding drugs or even terrorism,” she added, highlighting the ways unregulated cryptocurrencies can be misused.
On household savings, fuel price cuts and electoral bonds
She spoke about several other aspects of the Indian economy, including consumer spending and household savings. When asked about shrinking consumer spending and lower household savings, Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is trying to boost small savings by offering better interest rates.
However, she highlighted that more Indians are investing in the stock markets and not just mutual funds, adding that money flowing into the stock market has substantially increased. “In fact, India stands out as one of those countries, where retail investors are directly going to stock market,” she added.
Sitharaman also spoke on the recent cuts in LPG and fuel prices, adding that they are aimed at helping the public and are not influenced by the upcoming elections, despite assertions made by opposition parties.
Moreover, she dismissed speculations regarding the connection between probe agency raids and electoral bonds, labeling them as “assumptions.”
Her remarks came in response to the data released by the Election Commission (EC) from the State Bank of India, indicating that 14 of the top 30 companies that purchased electoral bonds faced scrutiny from central or state probe agencies.
Additionally, Sitharaman questioned the notion of the previous systems being flawless, suggesting that they may not have been entirely perfect.
