Crypto space won’t support the ban of self-custodial wallets, says WazirX CEO
The Indian cryptocurrency scene remains uncertain due to the government's upcoming regulations.
There are reports that the Indian government is looking to impose restrictions on self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets. The government also wants to only allow Indian crypto exchanges to operate in the country.
However, WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty stated that restrictions on self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets might be hard to implement in the country. He stated this during a recent interview as the topic of India's regulatory move takes center stage. He said;
"I don't believe you can prohibit the use of software. Self-custodial wallets are just software. Without self-custodial wallets, you cannot interact with many of the decentralized services."
Shetty added that as an industry, they would never recommend the banning of self-custodial wallets in India. He added that;
"If we want regulation, then services that are regulated need to be in India. These services need to follow the rules & regulations of our country." He noted, "Every nation that's regulating crypto is following a similar approach," emphasizing that "All exchanges can register [their] company in India as well."
When quizzed about regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, Shetty said the government would expect centralised exchanges to follow the law of India. It's the least to expect from any company that services Indians. He concluded that;
"We strongly support competition. If a product or service is not up to the mark, then competition will boot it out. But competition should be fair. When regulations come in, every exchange will have to follow it & compete. Let's build the best crypto ecosystem in India. Positive regulation will help the Indian crypto ecosystem grow rapidly. We're seeing good progress with crypto regulations."
India remains one of the biggest markets in the cryptocurrency space. The cryptocurrency market has been growing in India, and the government is looking to regulate the activities of investors, developers and other market participants.
