New Delhi, 12 October 2026 :
The global debate on digital assets has entered a new phase. The question is no longer whether crypto, stablecoins, decentralised finance (DeFi) and tokenisation will influence financial markets. They already do. The more consequential question is how governments can integrate these technologies into the financial system without importing the vulnerabilities that accompany them.
The work of international institutions, including the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Financial Stability Board (FSB), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), points to a gradual shift in regulatory thinking. The focus is increasingly on what a digital asset does, the risks it creates and who controls it, rather than the technology on which it operates. Since digital assets differ in purpose, structure and risk, regulators need to assess each category on its own merits rather than apply the same rules across the board.
This shift is particularly evident in the treatment of stablecoins, DeFi and tokenisation. Stablecoins are being examined as money-like instruments, with questions around reserves, redemption, liquidity and monetary sovereignty. DeFi presents a different challenge. Although it is often described as finance without intermediaries, control may still rest with developers, governance participants, validators, exchanges or other actors. By converting ownership rights into digital tokens, tokenisation could reshape how securities enter the market, change hands and complete settlement. Its long-term commercial value, however, is still being tested.
The international debate also reflects a growing recognition that technological potential does not automatically translate into widespread adoption or economic gains. At the same time, the risks require closer attention. IMF research has examined the implications of stablecoin flows for foreign exchange markets, monetary policy transmission and macroeconomic stability. FATF’s work highlights the continuing challenges of preventing illicit finance when decentralised structures make it difficult to identify the people exercising effective control. These concerns strengthen the case for regulation that addresses identifiable risks and responsibilities rather than relying solely on broad restrictions or technology-specific rules.
For India, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The objective should therefore be neither to accelerate adoption at any cost nor to hold it back indefinitely. It should be to build the institutional capacity to govern what is already emerging.The next chapter of India’s digital-asset policy should be defined by a simple principle: innovation may be global, but financial stability is ultimately local. The opportunity before India is to turn its experience in digital public infrastructure and its role in shaping the global crypto dialogue into a regulatory architecture that is credible at home and interoperable with the world.
