India Uninterested in Joining Pro-Crypto Wave, Sticks to Its CBDC Gamble

Key Takeaways

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal says India does not encourage crypto lacking real-world or sovereign backing.
• Government policy: no ban, but heavy taxation on private cryptocurrencies.
• India prioritizes CBDC rollout while Western nations retreat from digital currency plans.

India has made clear it is not interested in joining the global wave of pro-crypto regulation.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated this week that the government neither prohibits nor promotes cryptocurrencies but will continue to heavily tax them.

Instead, India is placing its bets squarely on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital rupee.

India vs. Global Peers

“As far as cryptocurrency, which the Central Government does not back, we are taxing it heavily, while there is no ban,” Goyal said. “We don’t encourage it because we don’t want anybody to be stuck at some point with a cryptocurrency with no backing and nobody at the backend.”

Goyal’s remarks highlight India’s deliberate divergence from other major economies.

While the U.S. has introduced the GENIUS Act to create a stablecoin framework, and the EU’s MiCA regime is now in effect, India remains hesitant to even outline a regulatory structure for private digital assets.

Across Asia, countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan are accelerating crypto adoption through licensing regimes, clear rules for stablecoins, and tax incentives designed to attract global capital.

India, by contrast, continues to discourage investment in crypto while positioning its CBDC as the only legitimate digital alternative.

The CBDC Gamble

India’s CBDC push also comes as the West retreats from central bank digital currency pilots.

In the U.S., lawmakers have moved to ban a digital dollar outright. In Europe, the digital euro has faced pushback over privacy concerns.

However, New Delhi remains committed to its path. Goyal argued that the digital rupee would be easier, faster, and traceable, framing it as a modern replacement for cash rather than a speculative asset.

A Regional Outlier

The approach risks making India an outlier in the region’s fast-changing financial landscape.

As neighbors build frameworks to attract crypto firms and integrate digital assets into traditional finance, India’s insistence on sidelining the crypto industry could leave its markets—and investors—at a disadvantage.

Whether the digital rupee can deliver the efficiencies promised remains to be seen.

What’s clear is that, while much of the world is laying the groundwork for a crypto-powered financial future, India is choosing to chart its own course with state-backed money.