Modi urges democratic nations to work jointly against misuse of cryptos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for all democratic nations to work together on regulating cryptocurrencies (cryptos) and prevent its misuse for illegal activities. 

His remark came in a speech at the inaugural edition of The Sydney Dialogue. 

“Take cryptocurrency or bitcoin for example. It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in the wrong hands, which can spoil our youth," Modi said in a Twitter post.  

Lack of regulation on cryptos and its misuse for illegal activities including funding of terrorism has been a major concern for all the leaders across the globe.  

On Saturday, Modi had chaired a review meeting to discuss the concerns related to cryptos and the future roadmap to regulate it.  

According to news reports, during the meeting it was decided that the government will continue to proactively engage with experts and other stakeholders in the crypto industry. 

Government is also mulling a crackdown on misleading ads in cryptos that are frequently aired on TV channels and can be seen on websites and apps. 

To avoid major backlash, crypto exchanges WazirX and Bitbns have also decided to hold back advertisements for now, reported Economic Times. 

Early this week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das reiterated that virtual currencies could pose a threat to India’s economic and financial stability.  

He also expressed concern over misleading claims of huge returns on investments in cryptos. 

The government may introduce a bill on cryptos during the upcoming winter session of Parliament, which begins on November 29, as per PTI.  

In February, the RBI had set up an internal panel to create an implementation strategy for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which would be a legal tender unlike cryptos. Das had said in August that the central bank may launch trials for the digital currency by December.  

Cryptos were initially banned by the RBI. In March 2020, the Supreme Court quashed the RBI circular banning cryptos.