Member of Parliament (MP) and AAP leader Raghav Chadha has urged the Centre to legalise virtual digital assets (VDAs) such as cryptocurrency and stablecoins. Speaking during Budget discussion in the Upper House of Parliament on 9 February, Chadha said that the Union government should take steps to build a compliance framework for VDAs and then heavily regulate the sector. “ The need of the hour is to build a compliance framework for cryptos and heavily regulate these VDAs… This will bring INR 15,000 Cr to INR 20,000 Cr into the government’s coffers. We currently tax these digital assets as if they are legal, but we regulate them as if they are illegal… Prohibition isn’t protection, regulation is protection,” said Chadha. Chadha flagged that India, despite de facto legalised taxation for cryptos, did not recognise VDAs as an asset class. Making his point, he further added that the country lacked dedicated licencing laws for virtual assets and customer protection frameworks for crypto investors. Due to this heavy taxation regime, the AAP MP claimed, INR 4.8 Lakh Cr worth of trade in VDAs had moved to offshore platforms. He also claimed that 180 local crypto startups moved overseas to Singapore and the… Read MoreInc42 Media
