Crimes on Cryptocurrency and Jurisdictional Challenges of Enforceability in India

Abstract

Cryptocurrency began as a marginal experiment among cypherpunk technologists and has since become an asset class worth trillions of dollars globally, and its rise has been matched by a parallel rise in criminal activity that feeds off the pseudonymity, decentralisation and borderless movement these assets allow. India counts among the countries with the largest populations of crypto holders anywhere, yet Parliament has still not enacted any statute dedicated to virtual digital assets; oversight instead comes piecemeal, through tax provisions, anti-money-laundering notifications and rulings handed down case by case. This article sets out the scale of crypto-related crime worldwide, reviews the current statistics, and examines the jurisdictional and enforcement difficulties that follow from them, with particular attention to how those difficulties play out inside India. India's liability framework is then measured against a handful of foreign models, the Indian judiciary's engagement with the resulting legal gaps is assessed against international standards and model policy approaches, and the article closes by setting out a proposed regulatory framework.