NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called for a “collective global action” for effective regulation of ever-changing technology and tech-driven payment systems, including cryptocurrency.
So far, regulators are only “catching-up” in regulating ever-evolving technology and hence there is no one point formula with which it can be regulated, she said.
The minister’s comments at an event came amid the govenrment’s plan to introduce a bill to “prohibit private cryptocurreny, while providing for certain exceptions “to promote the underlying technology” and “its uses”. The legislation, which has been in the works for several months, comes amid concerns of large investments flowing into digital currencies, without adequate safeguards or a regulatory framework and concerns over its possible misuse.
“Even as we are thinking about at a national level, there should simultaneously be a global mechanism through which we are constantly monitoring the movement of technology, so that whether it is your cryptocurrency, whether it is tech-driven payment system, data privacy, whether it is ensuring that data is used ethically… When you are looking at data as one of the revenue generating options, to regulate it will have to be a collective effort,” Sitharaman said.
Speaking at the InFinity Forum 2021, she said technology respects no physical borders and has the power to sweep through borders. “… It means that global action is the only way with which you can regulate effectively.”
Recently, PM Narendra Modi had also called upon all democratic nations to work together on cryptocurrency and bitcoin to ensure that it does not end up in wrong hands.
So far, regulators are only “catching-up” in regulating ever-evolving technology and hence there is no one point formula with which it can be regulated, she said.
The minister’s comments at an event came amid the govenrment’s plan to introduce a bill to “prohibit private cryptocurreny, while providing for certain exceptions “to promote the underlying technology” and “its uses”. The legislation, which has been in the works for several months, comes amid concerns of large investments flowing into digital currencies, without adequate safeguards or a regulatory framework and concerns over its possible misuse.
“Even as we are thinking about at a national level, there should simultaneously be a global mechanism through which we are constantly monitoring the movement of technology, so that whether it is your cryptocurrency, whether it is tech-driven payment system, data privacy, whether it is ensuring that data is used ethically… When you are looking at data as one of the revenue generating options, to regulate it will have to be a collective effort,” Sitharaman said.
Speaking at the InFinity Forum 2021, she said technology respects no physical borders and has the power to sweep through borders. “… It means that global action is the only way with which you can regulate effectively.”
Recently, PM Narendra Modi had also called upon all democratic nations to work together on cryptocurrency and bitcoin to ensure that it does not end up in wrong hands.
