Indian FinTech regulatory body excludes ICOs and crypto
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is also referred to as India’s Central Bank, has released the terms for its regulatory sandbox. The terms of the sandbox include several applications which are related to blockchain technology but all cryptocurrency-related projects seem to have been excluded.
According to an official report released by the Reserve Bank of India on 18th April 2019, on what is called to as the “Regulatory Sandbox”, which explores different aspects of Indian FinTech regulatory framework.
The regulatory sandbox will provide FinTechs with “an environment to innovative technology-led entities for limited-scale testing of a new product or service.” The companies will be able to “test the product’s viability without the need for a larger and more expensive roll-out.”
Sandboxes are normally used by financial regulators worldwide to enable Fintech companies to put their innovations to test using a smaller number of consumers over a pre-agreed upon time period. India’s RS comes about three years after the RBI reviewed its existing framework in response to the dynamics introduced by the rapidly evolving
Fintech market. According to the RS, India’s Central Bank concludes the “innovative technology” the public can sample build on blockchain technology, giving institutions an opportunity to assess whether there is a need for new regulations to protect consumers.
Moreover, the regulatory sandbox doesn’t entertain any crypto-related projects including cryptocurrencies or crypto asset services, crypto trading, investing or settling or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) besides several other more traditional financial services. As per the document, the Central Bank is interested in projects relating to retail payments, money transfer services, digital identity, mobile payments, and financial inclusion.
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