Cryptocurrency can bring more financial inclusion, as such worth considering, said Nandan Nilekani, chairman of software services exporter Infosys at the Reuters Next Conference. Nilekani, who co-founded Infosys in 1981, said

“There is a role for crypto as assets but they obviously will have to follow all the laws and make sure that it doesn't become a backdoor for money laundering.”

According to him, crypto can be used as “an entry point to get a lot of young people into financial markets.”

However, he added that crypto is not suitable for transactions because of its volatility and high transaction costs.

“If we have a very well regulated and legal, lawful crypto market, not as currency but as assets, and a lot of young people build innovative applications around that, then these young people could create a wave of global companies.”

As we reported this week, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam has said that the government is working on a new crypto bill, as the old one required the law to be “modified” to regulate crypto assets and that they are “close to bringing” it to Parliament.

Earlier in the week, Sitharam also told the Parliament that India has no plans to recognize Bitcoin as a currency.

Much like India, Thailand doesn’t seem keen on using crypto as a currency in the country. The Bank of Thailand warned companies against accepting digital assets for payments as more banks, companies, and institutions partner up to accept crypto as payment.

“High volatility of digital asset prices, risk of cyber theft and personal data leakages and tools for money laundering could impact customers and businesses,” Thailand’s central bank said in a statement.

The apex bank is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to create regulatory models for crypto assets’ usage as payments to limit risks.

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