PANews reported on February 4 that India is reviewing its stance on cryptocurrencies due to changes in other countries’ attitudes towards the virtual asset. A senior Indian government official told Reuters on Sunday that the review could further delay the release of a discussion paper on cryptocurrencies originally scheduled for September 2024.

“We are revisiting this discussion paper as more than one or two jurisdictions have changed their stance on the use, acceptance and importance of cryptocurrencies,” India’s Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said in an interview. Seth also noted that India’s stance cannot be unilateral as such assets are “not bound by national borders.”

He did not mention the United States specifically, but U.S. President Trump last week ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency task force charged with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency reserve, making good on his promise to overhaul U.S. cryptocurrency policy. Indians have invested heavily in cryptocurrencies in recent years despite India's strict regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies and high transaction taxes.