Ripple’s Navin Gupta Stresses the Importance of Activity-Based Crypto Regulation – Here’s What You Need to Know

Navin Gupta, the Managing Director of South Asia, Middle East, and North Africa at the US blockchain and payments firm Ripple, has reiterated the necessity of adopting an activity-based approach to crypto regulation.

Speaking in an interview with Cointelegraph at the recent Ripple Swell 2023 event in Dubai, Gupta emphasized the importance of regulating the crypto industry in a technology-neutral way that instead bases regulations the activities that are conducted.

“We want regulators, or anybody for that matter, to be technology-neutral. It doesn’t matter if the [activity] is happening in blockchain or traditionally,” Gupta said.

According to Gupta, a payment activity should be regulated as a payment instrument, and if an asset is deemed to be a security, it should be regulated accordingly.

Exciting moments from our Day 1 morning session at #RippleSwell! pic.twitter.com/Dueyybr4yw

— Ripple (@Ripple) November 8, 2023

Ripple has for a long time maintained that its token XRP is not a security, and the firm recently got the court to agree with its position with a ruling saying the token is “not in and of itself” a security.

Crypto is challenging to regulate

The unique and complex nature of crypto, along with the many different types of tokens that exist, pose challenges for regulators.

The G20 recently accepted a crypto regulatory roadmap, proposing comprehensive global oversight. However, the Middle East and North Africa region exhibit diverse approaches, with some countries embracing crypto openly, while others have yet to establish clear rules,

Promote ‘non-speculative use cases’

In his interview, Gupta also emphasized the importance of educating regulators and promoting non-speculative crypto use cases, such as remittances and payments, to navigate the region’s legal complexities.

According to him, focusing on real utility and “non-speculative use cases” is crucial to gaining regulator support.

“Education and utility-based projects where there is real utility for usage is how we can get regulators onboard,” the Ripple executive said.