The US Senate’s move towards clearer digital asset regulation underscores India’s ongoing struggle to establish a comprehensive framework, risking a growing regulatory gap in the emerging markets.
A move by US Senate Majority Leader John Thune to end debate on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has put the bill on course for a procedural vote on September 15, sharpening attention in India on how far behind its own digital-asset rules still are. The measure, which cleared the US House of Representatives on July 17, 2025 with bipartisan support, is designed to define how digital commodities are regulated and to split oversight more clearly between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Reuters-style policy watchers say that, for fast-moving markets, the significance lies as much in the signal of legislative certainty as in the bill’s detailed provisions.
That contrast is awkward for India. Just weeks earlier, a parliamentary standing committee on finance urged the Centre to examine a full statutory and regulatory framework for virtual digital assets and cryptocurrencies, while proposing that an interim model be built around recognised self-regulatory organisations operating under a designated regulator’s oversight. India already taxes virtual digital assets and has brought crypto-linked entities under anti-money-laundering rules, but it still lacks a comprehensive law covering issuance, trading, intermediaries and investor safeguards. The committee warned that the gap leaves room for fraud, market manipulation, misrepresentation and weak grievance redress.
The committee also said many virtual digital assets are now being bought and sold as financial assets, yet their trading on organised platforms and price discovery through market forces are not clearly recognised under the proposed Securities Markets Code. The finance ministry told the panel that whether such activity falls under regulation would depend on whether the arrangement qualifies as an “investment scheme”. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said VDAs that do not meet the definition of securities or derivatives under existing or proposed law may remain outside securities regulation altogether.
Industry executives in India say the US debate could help set a benchmark even if it does not dictate local policy. Ashish Singhal, cofounder of CoinSwitch, said the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act marks an important step towards greater regulatory clarity for the global Web3 industry. “By moving from regulation by enforcement towards clearer statutory rules, particularly around SEC and CFTC jurisdiction and pathways for token decentralisation, it could address one of the key barriers to sustained institutional participation in the sector,” he said. Edul Patel, chief executive of Mudrex, said US clarity would not determine India’s path, but “it could provide policymakers with a mature reference architecture” as they weigh investor protection, market oversight and innovation. The committee is preparing a separate report on virtual digital assets and the way forward.
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