India Bans Crypto Talk at World’s Largest Fintech Summit—And That Silence Says Everything About Its Market Strategy

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The world’s biggest fintech conference just wrapped in Mumbai with over 100,000 attendees, more than 800 speakers, and one glaring omission: any meaningful discussion of cryptocurrencies or stablecoins—despite Bitcoin hitting an all-time high above $125,000 the same week.

At the three-day Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai that kicked off Oct. 7, organizers instructed speakers to steer clear of “political, crypto, religious, or personal remarks on stage or at the venue,” Reuters reported, citing a document containing speaker guidelines.

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India is leaning towards not creating legislation to regulate the crypto sector, a stark contrast to the approach taken by Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which have actively courted cryptocurrency and stablecoin businesses.

Instead of embracing digital currencies, Indian regulators spotlighted the country’s central bank digital currency, called the e-rupee, with the Reserve Bank of India launching pilots for deposit tokenisation and a sandbox for fintechs. More than 50 products debuted at the event, including PayPal’s (NASDAQ:PYPL) global wallet platform and biometric authentication for payments, but crypto remained conspicuously absent.

“The policy ambivalence has a chilling effect on the development of commercial use cases for stablecoins in India,” Delhi-based Black Dot Public Policy Advisors Founder Mandar Kagade told Reuters.

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The numbers tell a compelling story about what’s at stake. U.S. dollar stablecoins have amassed a market capitalization of over $300 billion, while the overall crypto market cap has climbed to more than $4 trillion. Meanwhile, India’s fintech sector raised just $3.5 billion last year, the lowest since 2020 and well off the peak of $9.2 billion in 2021.

At least six industry executives said that while entering the crypto sector could offer fresh business lines and help attract investment, there is little appetite in the absence of regulatory blessing.

“There is cause for fair degree of caution on stablecoins,” Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub CEO Sahil Kini said while addressing the Oct. 7 session. “I don’t think this kind of stance changes overnight.”

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The regulatory vacuum isn’t just stifling innovation—it’s driving talent overseas. “It’s becoming real whether we like it or not, so it’s imperative to figure out how to engage with it,” independent consultant Vivekdeep Gupta told Reuters.

Gupta pointed to a “huge amount of energy but lack of regulatory clarity is also causing brain-drain,” noting a preference for companies in the sector to incorporate overseas.

Mumbai-based venture capital firm Blume Ventures Vice President Joseph Sebastian suggested a measured path forward. “Regulators need to have an iterative approach instead of the complete aversion they have towards stablecoins currently,” he told Reuters. “The first step can be allowing inward remittances via U.S. dollar stablecoins as the regulatory grey-zone also complicates the picture for startups and investors.”

The silence at India’s marquee fintech event speaks volumes: while the rest of the world debates how to regulate crypto, India has effectively decided not to participate in the conversation at all. For investors watching India’s massive market, that absence may prove more significant than any policy statement.

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This article India Bans Crypto Talk at World’s Largest Fintech Summit—And That Silence Says Everything About Its Market Strategy originally appeared on Benzinga.com