As the Cofounder of a prominent Web3 company in India, can you share your perspective on the current regulatory landscape for the web3/crypto industry in the country?
To be candid, India’s regulatory climate has not been the most conducive to the growth of Web3 start ups. Especially when viewed in comparison with, for instance, European, Middle Eastern, or other Asian countries that are developing bespoke regulations tailored to the Web3 ecosystem. This space is complex and unique. Therefore, regulations must be tailor made to it, and retrofitting traditional regulatory tools to the Web3 ecosystem is not the way out.
I've often quoted the 1 % TDS as an example demonstrating policy makers' noble intentions gone wrong. While the objective of the levy was to monitor transactions in this space, it has inadvertently incentivised Indian users to use alternate channels to engage with crypto. Not only are such transactions harder to trace, but they are not secure and thus render Indian users vulnerable.
That said, recent developments have given me optimism. The G20
