A landmark legislative proposal called the COINS Act has been introduced to bring regulatory clarity and stability to India’s cryptocurrency ecosystem. The framework aims to resolve longstanding industry challenges including regulatory ambiguity and heavy taxation while fostering innovation and consumer protection.
Central to the proposal is the establishment of the Crypto Assets Regulatory Authority (CARA), designed to streamline oversight of digital assets. CARA’s structure draws inspiration from international models including the European Union’s MiCA framework and Singapore’s regulatory sandbox approach to foster controlled innovation.
The legislation seeks to reverse the exodus of cryptocurrency developers from India by addressing regulatory uncertainties and tax burdens, as emphasized by industry advocate Vishal Achanta. A key provision within the Act involves converting legally seized cryptocurrency assets into a strategic national Bitcoin reserve to support ecosystem development.
Venture capital firm Hashed Emergent and advisory group Black Dot are collaborating to refine the framework through workshops with key government bodies including the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Additionally, the COINS Act delineates compliance requirements for centralized exchanges to balance technological innovation with robust consumer safeguards across regulated platforms.