The much anticipated Bill to regulate cryptocurrencies has not been introduced in Parliament’s Winter Session, even as investments in these digital assets have continued to soar. According to some estimates, the year 2021 has seen crypto adoption in semi-urban and rural India skyrocket eight times.
As the liquidity measures announced by several developed economies begin to taper off, asset classes including cryptocurrencies are beginning to see a softening of prices, putting at risk retail investors who have put money in an unregulated market — one which is vulnerable not only to macroeconomic factors such as liquidity, but also to tweets by maverick billionaires such as Elon Musk. However, behind the gleam and glimmer of currencies like Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, Tether, and Solano lies a technology that some believe will shape the next phase of Internet.