Government has no information on active cryptocurrency exchanges or users, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Rajya Sabha that the Indian government is not collecting any data on the crypto market.

The Indian government is not collecting any data on the crypto market and has no idea about the number of active cryptocurrency exchange platforms or users in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Rajya Sabha on July 27 in response to a question raised by Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. The finance minister added that the ministry has not received any information on whether some of these exchanges are involved in narcotic drug trafficking or money laundering. "This information is not collected by the Government," Sitharaman said, in response to Modi’s question about the active platforms in the country. The Indian government initially had a strong stance on cryptocurrencies but, it has softened over the last few months with the growing popularity of digital currencies in the country.