India Panel Calls for Wider Consultation on Crypto Regulation

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in India has recommended that any move to regulate cryptocurrencies and other virtual digital assets (VDAs) under the proposed Securities Markets Code should be preceded by broader policy deliberations and coordination among regulators and government departments.

The committee examined the Securities Markets Code, 2025, which is designed as a technology-neutral framework allowing tokenized versions of existing securities to remain within the ambit of securities regulation.

However, the panel observed that cryptocurrencies without the characteristics of securities or derivatives may remain outside the proposed law. The Ministry of Finance stated that virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrencies that do not fall under the definitions of 'security' or 'derivative' under existing laws may be outside the purview of securities regulation.

The government believes that framing a comprehensive regime for crypto-assets would require both domestic and international coordination, according to the report. The Ministry stated that any regulatory framework for such assets would need significant international and domestic coordination, and that it may not be appropriate to include them within the Code at this stage.