Last Updated on 21/12/2021 by Ulka
The final text of India’s crypto bill has yet to be approved by the Cabinet. One of the proposals is for every crypto exchange to hire a grievance officer, similar to the recently implemented IT Rules.
Given that there are at least 15 local crypto exchanges in the nation, such as WazirX and CoinDCX, as well as global firms like Coinbase and CrossTower, willing to start-up shop in India, this would mean prospective work for at least 16 lawyers.
The government is keen to establish a point-of-contact for crypto exchanges, according to Aritra Sarkhel, the head of policy and governance issues at Indian crypto exchange WazirX — who has also been a part of negotiations with the government over the past year concerning the crypto bill.
The idea behind appointing a grievance officer is that the point-of-contact, regardless of whether a corporation is situated in India or outside, should be someone who is based in India and can respond to the government’s questions and concerns as they emerge.
Furthermore, the executive’s name and contact information will be widely displayed on the social media platform’s website for users to address their grievances, at least according to the IT Rules.
Being a grievance officer entails acknowledging all complaints within 24 hours and resolving the problem within 15 days of the complaint being made. In India, Meta, formerly Facebook, has chosen Spoorthi Priya as its grievance officer, while WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal, who resigned earlier this month.
While grievance officers for platforms like WhatsApp, Meta — formerly known as Facebook — Twitter, and others are not required to be attorneys, they must have at least 10 years of experience dealing with law enforcement or security organisations, including cybercrime and internet investigations.
Other facets of the blockchain world have yet to be brought to the attention of the authorities. “Listen, nobody in high places is talking about the metaverse. We’re talking about cryptocurrencies, exchanges, and NFTs. “I don’t believe anyone is talking about the metaverse,” Sarkhel stated.
Right now, the focus is on understanding the distinctions between regular exchanges and cryptocurrency exchanges. How does the money go in and out, how do wallets – where users store bitcoin — factor into regulation, and what distinguishes one cryptocurrency from another?
And, when it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the majority of the debate is on how they should be taxed as digital art HODLers, buyers, or creators.
