CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES AS “DIGITAL GATEKEEPERS”: NEED FOR A COMPETITION FRAMEWORK UNDER THE COMPETITION ACT, 2002
AUTHOR – PRATYUSH* & MR. KHALEEQ AHMAD**
* LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
** PROFESSOR, LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
BEST CITATION – PRATYUSH & MR. KHALEEQ AHMAD, CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES AS “DIGITAL GATEKEEPERS”: NEED FOR A COMPETITION FRAMEWORK UNDER THE COMPETITION ACT, 2002, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (9) OF 2026, PG. 204-213, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
Abstract
The rapid emergence of crypto exchanges in India has revolutionized the digital financial environment. These exchanges serve as the primary intermediaries between users and crypto assets. The rapid growth in trading volume and expansion of exchanges beyond simple trading platforms into wallets, payment gateways, and token issuance, are bestowing “digital gatekeeper” characteristics upon these platforms akin to major tech firms. The issues pertaining to competition law and the growing gatekeeper role, within the Competition Act of 2002 are serious in nature relating primarily to market definition, assessment of dominance, and possible exploitative or exclusionary practices of the firms. Practices such as self- preferencing of token listings, discriminatory access to liquidity, predatory pricing, high switching costs and the exploitation of customer data for a competitive advantage, highlight the problematic nature of crypto markets and necessitate a bespoke competition framework for them.
The existing Indian regulatory landscape is still divided between different authorities-the RBI, SEBI, MeitY, and CCI have competing jurisdictions with no definitive classification of crypto assets as goods, securities or digital commodities. Furthermore, the traditional ex-post competition enforcement framework under the Competition Act 2002, has not fully managed to address innovative practices like algorithmic trading, network effects, rapid market concentration of crypto platforms, and therefore there is an increased emphasis on developing proactive ex-ante frameworks, similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act or the UK’s Digital Markets Unit.
In this article, a separate competition policy regime for Indian crypto exchanges is suggested which would implement measures like transparency obligations, interoperability mandating, data portability, and stricter merger controls to address the misuse of power by gatekeepers, promote consumer welfare, and maintain an innovative and competitive digital finance sector.
Keywords: Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Digital Gatekeepers, Competition Law, Blockchain Regulation, Competition Act, 2002