Key Takeaways:
- CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta calls for a regulated INR-backed stablecoin to accelerate India’s digital economy.
- He argues such stablecoins could reduce remittance costs by up to 90%, boosting household incomes.
- Gupta points to global models where fully reserved and audited stablecoins support innovation without destabilizing financial systems.
India is racing toward becoming a $10 trillion economy, but according to CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta, one critical gap remains: the absence of an INR-backed stablecoin. In a detailed series of posts on X, Gupta wrote on why India has to act fast, where it is beneficial and what notions have been reserving the progress until now.
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Stablecoins and India’s Digital Potential
The international stablecoin market is already over 150 billion with such market leaders as Tether (USDT) and Circle USDC. These tokens find application in the trade, the payment, as well as middle ground between the traditional and digital finance.
Despite India’s scale and rapid fintech adoption, the country has yet to roll out its own rupee-linked version. Gupta see this as an unrealized potential, given that India already has resilient payment networks via the UPI, which recorded 12 billion transactions in June 2025 alone.
“Stablecoins can lower costs, speed up payments, and expand financial access,” Gupta wrote. “The rupee should lead the digital future.”
Clearing Misconceptions Around Stablecoins
Fully Reserved, Transparent, and Regulated
Gupta addressed fears that stablecoins might resemble the chaos of 19th-century “wildcat” banking, when unregulated currencies circulated without proper reserves.
He countered that today’s leading stablecoins are not only backed one-to-one by safe assets but also undergo frequent audits. As an example, USDC is cash-reserved and cash-based with attestations daily and a third-party audit on a monthly basis.
Gupta postulated India could establish a even superior practice:
- 100% reserves held in rupees
- Daily transparency reports
- Direct oversight by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Such measures, he argued, would make INR stablecoins safer than banks operating on fractional reserve models, where only a portion of deposits are held in reserve.
Cutting Remittance Costs by 90%
India is the biggest remittances receiver in the world with remittances peaking above $125 billion in 2024. Nonetheless, the mechanism of transferring the money home is costly. Conventional procedures tend to be referred to SWIFT transactions, where the amount obtained by the families is affected by fees and spreads in currencies.
Gupta emphasized that blockchain-based stablecoin transfers could slash costs by up to 90%, while also enabling instant payouts directly into UPI-linked wallets.
“More money in Indian hands, less lost in intermediaries’ fees,” he stated.
It can revolutionize the remittances industry, keeping billions of dollars in the homes of families sending money instead of paying the payment providers and banks.
Addressing Concerns Over Financial Stability
Certain policymakers fear that since stablecoins can settle important markets, they may also threaten government securities markets and fragment the monetary system. Gupta, though, discounted these fears:
- Stablecoin issuers currently hold over $120 billion in short-term U.S. Treasuries, acting as reliable buyers of safe assets.
- During the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank crisis, Circle redeemed billions of USDC without losing its peg, proving the resilience of regulated stablecoins.
- India already manages multiple digital payment instruments: UPI, Paytm, Amazon Pay, and mobile wallets without destabilizing the rupee. Stablecoins would simply be another interoperable tool in the system.
Instead of undermining government bonds, stablecoins would lead to a rise in demand for safe assets, which would serve as a consistent buyer for Indian short-term securities, Gupta argued.
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Global Precedents Show the Way
Some countries such as Singapore, UK, EU have already outlined strict regime for stablecoins:
- Full reserves held in safe assets
- Regular audits
- Strong disclosure requirements
Far from causing instability, these frameworks have fostered both trust and innovation. Gupta noted that India has all the ingredients to follow suit: fintech leadership, digital infrastructure, and regulatory experience.
Why INR Stablecoins Matter for India
For Gupta, the issue is not just about technology but about strategic advantage. An INR-backed stablecoin could:
- Cut remittance fees dramatically
- Provide exporters with faster settlement options
- Drive financial inclusion by reaching unbanked populations
- Strengthen the rupee’s position in global digital finance
“Regulation turns risk into opportunity,” Gupta wrote, urging policymakers to shape the future rather than resist it.
