The chairman of major Indian company Infosys says that crypto should be regulated as an asset, like a commodity. He believes that crypto investors will significantly contribute to India’s economy.
Infosys Chairman Wants Crypto Regulated as an Asset
Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani says the Indian government should regulate crypto as an asset that can be bought or sold, like a commodity, according to an interview with the Financial Times. He explained:
Just like you have some of your assets in gold or real estate, you can have some of your assets in crypto. I think there’s a role for crypto as a stored value but certainly not in a transactional sense.
Established in 1981, Infosys is a NYSE-listed Indian multinational information technology and consulting company with about 25,000 employees. The company has a presence in over 50 countries. Nilekani has long worked with Indian authorities to help craft digital policies, including the Aadhaar biometric identity program. He also chaired a central bank committee on digital payments in 2019.
Nilekani believes cryptocurrencies are not suitable as a means of payment because they are too volatile and energy-intensive. In addition, he thinks that India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) digital payments infrastructure is more effective.
The chairman explained that cryptocurrency investors would “put their wealth into India’s economy” if they are allowed to tap into the $1.5 trillion cryptocurrency market.
The Indian government is still working on the country’s crypto policies. There is a cryptocurrency bill that was supposed to be introduced in the Budget session of parliament but it was not. This bill proposes banning cryptocurrencies. However, there are reports that the government is reevaluating the bill and is setting up a panel of experts to come up with new recommendations.
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