After a parliamentary committee called for the government to examine statutory rules, Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) announced an industry-led standards body for India's virtual digital asset (VDA) sector Wednesday, Oct. 28.
BWA named former Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh as chairperson and former Reserve Bank of India monetary policy adviser Praggya Das as a member. The association presents the body as its own initiative.
BWA says the body will develop guidance on fair trading, cybersecurity, VDA listings, consumer protection and marketing. Its launch announcement also says the body will periodically review governance and compliance practices and recommend corrective measures.
Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance adopted its 36th report on the proposed Securities Markets Code July 21, 2026, and presented it to the Lok Sabha July 23. The committee urged the government to examine a statutory framework for VDAs and consider interim self-regulatory organizations (SROs) under a designated regulator.
The committee said the Code would not cover VDAs that fall outside its definitions of securities and derivatives. It cited fraud, market manipulation and inadequate grievance redressal among the concerns. The Finance Ministry's position, as recorded in the report, was that crypto assets were unregulated apart from taxation, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements. It also said including VDAs in the proposed code might not be appropriate at that stage.
Coinbase said May 31, 2026, that Indian customers could deposit and withdraw rupees through the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and access spot trading and perpetual futures. The company said support for existing users was still being rolled out.
The Ministry of Finance said covered VDA service providers must register as reporting entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It said anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism requirements for such providers have applied since March 2023. The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) said it issued notices to 15 providers for noncompliance on Sept. 9.
