The lawyer behind the overturning of India’s crypto ban in 2018 did not rule out going to court again

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Ikigai Law’s Anirudh Rastogi represented Indian crypto exchanges in the Supreme Court case, which led to the cancellation of the Reserve Bank of India’s crypto ban. According to him, the ideal case would be for the government to create a self-regulatory body (SRO) to oversee the crypto industry in India. However, the case could go to court if the government’s next crypto bill is too restrictive. India’s upcoming crypto bill has been shrouded in speculation since last week, when the government announced it would introduce the long-awaited bill during the current session of parliament.

The industry as a whole hopes that the government will strike the right balance so as not to restrict innovation and give legitimacy to the sector. The lawyer behind the overturning of India’s crypto ban in 2018, Anirudh Rastogi, believes that too restrictive a position could lead to another battle in the Supreme Court.

Rastogi has represented Indian crypto exchanges including WazirX, CoinDCX and others in the Supreme Court appeal against the 2018 cryptocurrency ban issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Barring a blanket ban, here are some of the wishes it sparked by the crypto ban: A self-regulatory organization to oversee the crypto industry Sunset clauses for tough laws A sandbox setup allowing crypto companies to develop their use cases Gas Fee Payment Allowance Use Cryptocurrencies “A blanket payment ban would be a good reason to go to court. If I can’t make gas payments, that’s the end of a lot of businesses – how do you operate an exchange, for example, that’s built on an Ethereum or Bitcoin network without paying gas fees. This could be challenged as a violation of a person’s “right to trade”, ”he told Business Insider. What’s wrong with gas charges? Gas charges, in simple terms, are transaction costs. These payments are made by users to remunerate the network for the computational energy needed to process and validate transactions. And, they are made during cryptocurrencies. If there is a general ban on cryptocurrencies and their use as a means of payment, developers based in India will face problems developing solutions based on blockchain technology.

“If the government bans the use of cryptocurrency for payments, the right exceptions are important … A license for cross-border cryptocurrency-based remittances would be desirable because it can make remittances much cheaper. and faster. So allowing limited payment activity would actually be a good thing, ”explained Rastogi.

Rastogi’s Wish List for India’s Crypto Bill “I wish our government had taken a little more methodical approach to crafting this regulation,” Rastogi said in conversation with the policymaker Public Affairs, Government Affairs and WazirX Content, Aritra Sarkhel, during the Business Insider webinar. According to him, it is not a surprise that the Indian government does not seek to recognize Bitcoin as currency. “This has been a consistent position taken by the government, right from the speed of Arun Jaitley’s 2018 budget,” he said.

At the same time, fears persist. A diet that is too restrictive could also be a problem. “Over-regulating an emerging new technology could be deeply problematic as this is a rapidly changing space. And, for the government to keep pace and in terms of legislation is obviously going to be difficult, ”said Rastogi.

Instead, he proposes that the government state general principles but not micro-management. Other industries, like over-the-top services (OTT) and e-commerce, have regulated themselves for a few years – and the same allocation should be given to the crypto industry in India.

My ideal case would be for the government to create an SRO [self regulatory organisation], which could then set further guidelines on two or three specific issues, one being investor protection and publicity.

Anirudh Rastogi, Founder and Managing Partner of Ikigai Law, told Business Insider US

If the government introduces stricter regulations, it should come with a “sunset clause”. Simply put, the more stringent parts of the law should be accompanied by an expiration date, by which time they should be reassessed.

Alternatively, the government could even set up a sandbox environment for cryptocurrency experiments. “The RBI sandbox in place today specifically bans cryptocurrency businesses, which is bizarre. Sandboxes are meant to be created exactly for these types of businesses, which are state of the art. , less well understood and have regulatory concerns – that’s why you are creating a sandbox, ”explained Rastogi.

Questions remain unanswered According to Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of Finance, Bitcoin will not have the status of currency. But she did not say whether cryptocurrency payments for blockchain operations would still be allowed.

The question of whether cryptocurrency trading would still be allowed in the country is also on hold until a formal draft of the bill goes for public review.

The upside is that Sitharaman has clarified that the next bill is most definitely different from its previous iterations. However, it is still awaiting Cabinet approval before it can be presented to the lower house of parliament – the Lok Sabha – for discussion.

As my colleague Priyam likes to say, if this bill were a digital asset, it would be more volatile than Bitcoin or Ethereum or any other trade.

Anirudh Rastogi, Founder and Managing Partner of Ikigai Law, told Business Insider US

Here’s the full conversation with Anirudh Rastogi and Aritra Sarkhel, Head of Governance Affairs, Public Policy and Content at WazirX:

#DIRECT | Two days of #Winter session in Parliament, two rounds of comments from the Minister of Finance #NirmalaSitharaman -… https://t.co/CQLDkL4pIC

– Business Insider India (@BiIndia) 1638275419000 Disclosure: This conversation is part of a series on Business Insider, sponsored by WazirX. SEE ALSO: CoinDCX clarifies it has no ‘immediate’ plans to launch IPO

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