Indian Supreme Court pushing Union government for clear crypto regulation: report

The Indian Supreme Court has directed the Union government to record whether or not it intends to establish a federal agency to investigate crypto-related criminal cases — calling it "unfortunate" that the Centre still has no law or agency regulating crypto — according to Hindustan Times.

“You still don’t have any law, unfortunately," justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta said before asking: "Do you have an agency at the national level to understand these cases and investigate properly?"

"We want you to identify a national specialized agency, in the national interest," they added, before asking: "What kind of a quality investigation can you expect when you have a police constable, who gets promoted to an assistant sub-inspector or a sub-inspector, to handle such cases?”

The bench did not mince words when demanding the Centre put in place a legal regime to handle crypto cases — which often involve complex transactions — explaining:

“There has to be some legislative mechanism. You can tell us that it is for you to decide whether or not you want it. But so long you don’t have a mechanism, how do you investigate people and keep them behind bars? It’s after all the country’s money, which is being siphoned off."

"Who has the responsibility to stop it," the bench asked. "We thought you will yourself come forward and provide some solution."

India has long been a hotbed of regulatory uncertainty and is far from a crypto-friendly jurisdiction. However, the Reserve Bank of India continues to take interest in a digital rupee central bank digital currency.