India’s government is considering adopting a stablecoin regulatory framework while the Reserve Bank of India urges a “cautious” approach.
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The government of India may consider stablecoin regulations in its Economic Survey 2025-2026, while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) takes a “cautious” approach to crypto and pushes for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), revealing a divergence in policy recommendations.
The government will “present its case” for stablecoins in the annual report published by India’s Ministry of Finance, which outlines key policy recommendations and the state of the economy, business publication reported, citing an official familiar with the matter.
However, the central bank continues to urge a “cautious” approach to stablecoins, according to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra. Speaking at the Delhi School of Economics on Thursday, he :
“We have a very cautious approach towards crypto because of various concerns that we have. Of course, the government has to take a final view. There is a working group which was set up earlier, and they will make a final call as to how, if at all, crypto is to be handled in our country.”
Malhorta dismissed concerns that India needs to respond to stablecoin innovation led by the United States, following the in June, because India has a robust domestic digital payments infrastructure, unlike the US.
This includes the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a 24/7 payments network, the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), which settles payments hourly and is also available 24/7, and the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system for large transactions, Malhorta said.
The government of India regulating cryptocurrencies would mark a significant departure from its and would legitimize digital assets in the world’s most populous country, spurring crypto adoption and potentially raising asset prices.
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In October, Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of commerce and industry, said the government neither encourages nor discourages cryptocurrencies, but he also as an asset class.
Most cryptocurrencies do not have sovereign backing or underlying assets that give them value, Goyal said.
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