Indian High Court Seeks Disclaimers on Crypto Advertising

The High Court of Delhi in India has called for standardized disclaimers on crypto-related advertising on national television.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and other relevant bodies should issue appropriate guidelines for crypto exchanges advertising on TV, the court said, according to reports Wednesday.
• The court is seeking responses from SEBI, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and some of India's prominent crypto exchanges like WasirX, scheduling the matter for discussion in August.
• The request comes after lawyers Ayush Shukla and Vikash Kumar petitioned for SEBI to mandate disclaimer text covering 80% of the screen, with a voiceover reading slowly for five seconds.
• The suggested format compares with the current practice where a disclaimer is displayed briefly in small text with wording such as "Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks," according to the request.
• If the guidelines are issued, it might be interpreted as a further sign of India moving away from the outright crypto ban that had been threatened by the government and adopting a more lenient approach by regulating the industry.