Crypto Is Here To Stay, Says Paytm Founder Amid Regulatory Debate In India

The government of India is set to propose a new crypto bill in Parliament. This bill contains some regulations that are unfavorable to Indias cryptocurrency economy. In the midst of this, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm, has a lot to say. Paytm is an Indian multinational technology company that specializes in digital payment systems, e-commerce, and finance.

Sharma proclaimed that crypto is here to stay, and he expects it to become mainstream in a few years.

On Thursday, at a virtual conference organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Sharma spoke about cryptocurrencies. He stated that crypto is Silicon Valleys answer to Wall Street.

“I am very positive about crypto. It is fundamentally based on cryptography and will be the mainstream technology in a few years like the internet, which is (now) part of daily life,” he said.

In India currently, there are no laws that regulate crypto use. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held a meeting with other officials on the regulatory steps to take.

According to a parliamentary bulletin dated Nov. 23, the Indian government plans to introduce a new bill to regulate digital currencies. With this bill, the authorities are preparing to ban private cryptocurrencies. And at the same time, create a framework for developing an official digital currency. The bill, however, “allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.”

Sharma further stated that cryptocurrency use is currently speculative. “Every government is confused. In five years, it will be the mainstream technology.” He claimed that people would soon realize how the world would be without crypto. However, he emphasized, it would not replace fiat currencies.

The Paytm founder also said that he would expand to other countries once Paytms revenue crosses $1 billion.

“Now Paytm in a JV with a Japanese entity is running Japans largest payments system. Later we will go without a partner,” he said.

Earlier this month, Paytm said that it would consider Bitcoin services if the Indian government legalized crypto. During an interview with Bloomberg, Paytm chief financial officer Madhur Deora spoke about the unclear cryptocurrency laws in India.

“Bitcoin is still in a regulatory grey area if not a regulatory ban in India. […] At the moment, Paytm does not do Bitcoin. If it was ever to become fully legal in the country then clearly there could be offerings we could launch.”