Rajeev Chandrasekhar – the minister of state for IT and electronics – said crypto could present a “legitimate case of macroeconomic risks,” in a recent report. He also said that a world without crypto regulation is a dangerous one.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Crypto in India
Chandrasekhar commented:
It is a very legit case that crypto represents macroeconomic risks. It represents many other types of risks. FTX and other cases reaffirm that crypto is not business as usual and crypto is not innovation. In India, crypto is not illegal if you buy them through legitimate channels of LRS (liberalized remittances scheme) which are RBI-approved dispensation on foreign exchange. It is your choice to lose money or make money, and the government does not get in the business of where you invest in and what you invest in, but we certainly have the obligation to explain to the Indian citizens that you can’t exchange rupee for crypto.
He further stated:
RBI is very clear on this and we should respect their views on how they chart out the crypto course and crypto roadmap. They have said CBDC (central bank digital currency) is the route, and I have no problem with that. It is the best way to do that without creating any downside risk to the economy.
Chandrasekhar also said that he’s not concerned about the lack of funding going to tech startups and crypto companies as of late. He mentioned:
Peaks and troughs and ups and downs and business cycles are very inherent in startups. We are seeing a cycle that would’ve played anyway… Also, people are getting smart about where value lies and where IP is. Certainly, COVID and over stimulus in [the] U.S. and European economies and [the] Russia-Ukraine war have caused some significant headwinds in risk aversion… People are a lot more careful and prudent, which is causing valuation corrections.
His thoughts towards regulation are concerning in many ways given how many people working in a regulatory capacity today are not fit to be doing so. Look at the U.S., for example, where virtually everyone in the federal government that’s now voicing support for crypto regulation accepted bribes and campaign donation funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the man behind FTX.
The Mystery Behind FTX
It does not seem possible that these individuals could have had such close ties to a criminal and not seen the kind of shady practices occurring behind the closed doors of his exchange. The idea could be that FTX was a setup of sorts. That the exchange would collapse after everyone had their chance to benefit from it and then they could swoop in and make their mark by taking away everyone’s financial freedom.
Chandrasekhar concluded by hinting India is a prime country to have its hand in all new technological ventures.
