The Indian technology leader urges to adopt cryptocurrency as an asset class

Nandan Nilekani has called on India to adopt cryptocurrencies as an asset class as authorities around the world clash over how to accommodate the technology.

The president of Infosys, the consulting and information technology company, believes that cryptocurrencies are too volatile and consume a lot of energy to use as a means of payment and considers India’s own production Digital payments infrastructure of the unified payments interface the more effective. But he said cryptography should be encouraged as an asset that can be bought and sold, as a commodity.

“Just like you have some of your assets in gold or real estate, you can have some of your assets in cryptography,” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “I think there’s a role for cryptography as a stored value, but certainly not in a transactional sense.”

Nilekani said allowing individuals and businesses to take advantage of the $ 1.5 million market would allow “crypto boys to put their wealth into India’s economy.”

The technology executive has worked for a long time with the Indian authorities to help develop digital policies, including the Aadhaar Biometric Identity Program. In 2019 he also chaired a central bank committee on digital payments.

India is a potentially large market for cryptography, but the country’s official position is unclear, with the specter of a total ban is approaching despite rising volumes among local traders.

The ban would make India one of the most draconian jurisdictions in the world when it comes to digital currencies, as authorities around the world consider how to regulate cryptography.

India’s Supreme Court last year overturned a 2018 central bank directive that halted cryptography. But the market continues to operate in a gray area, with some banks recently threatening to take action against crypto traders.

The government said this year that it would introduce legislation that was expected to ban private digital currencies in favor of an official currency of the central bank. Since then, officials have made more conciliatory statements.

Infosys has enthusiastically adopted the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, as it appears to offer a growing range of digital tools to its multinational customers.

But the computer industry in India was hit hard by the country’s fierce second wave of coronavirus, with companies facing widespread infection among employees and regulators worried about the possible disruption of back-office operations. Nilekani argued that the business impact was limited and that cases were now falling.

Nilekani argued that Infosys ’experience and scale (the company has about 250,000 employees) meant it was well placed to thrive as companies reformed their internal systems to fit a post-work routine. -remote or flexible work pandemic.

This includes the demand to move to the cloud. Although Infosys does not usually reveal the identity of its customers, in the last year it has reached agreements with companies such as Daimler, the German vehicle manufacturer and the American investment group Vanguard.

“I think frankly, today’s opportunities are better than ever,” Nilekani said. “In the 40 years I’ve been in this industry, I’ve never seen so many changes and accelerations happen.”