New details have emerged suggesting that the Indian government will continue banning the cryptocurrency contrary to what the crypto community believes. In her recent interview on cryptocurrency legislation, the Indian finance minister said there will be a window of experimentation for cryptocurrency, blockchain and fintech.
Reports of cryptocurrency banning in India
The Indian crypto community is closely monitoring whether the government will ban cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. A cabinet note on cryptocurrency legislation is currently being finalized and will be presented to the cabinet shortly.
The latest information on India’s crypto ban comes from Reuters, which reported on Sunday evening that “India will propose a law banning cryptocurrencies, penalizing anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets”. The publication quoted an unnamed senior government official who claimed he had direct knowledge of the plan. He said the bill would “criminalize possession, issuance, mining, trading and transfer of crypto assets.”
According to the official:
The bill would give cryptocurrency holders up to six months to liquidate, after which fines would be levied.
In addition, officials are confident the law will go into effect as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has a comfortable majority in parliament, the publication added.
Crypto Community believes there will be no ban
Many people on social media do not believe India will enforce the ban on cryptocurrency, but this suggests that the information provided by Reuters is out of date. They believe Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out in her recent interviews that cryptocurrency will not be banned.
Over the weekend, the Treasury Secretary spoke about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency legislation in an interview on India Today. She was asked if India would go into the zone where it is inevitable that the government must come to the realization that cryptocurrencies will stay here.
The finance minister reiterated that a “cabinet note” on the cryptocurrency was “being prepared” and “nearing completion”. She confirmed that it will be brought to the cabinet soon.
The Treasury Secretary noted that the Supreme Court has commented on the cryptocurrency and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will call the official digital rupee, confirming:
On our part, we are very clear that we are not ruling out all options. We are going to allow a certain amount of windows for users so that experiments in blockchain, bitcoin or whatever you want to call it, the cryptocurrency experiments and fintech that depend on such experiments have this window available for them.
However, she stressed that specific rules for cryptocurrencies will be included in the cabinet note, which will be “ready soon”.
Earlier this month, Bitcoin.com News reported that the Treasury Secretary said, “It’s going to take a very calibrated position … We’re not closing our minds. We are certainly investigating how experiments can take place in the digital world, in cryptocurrency, etc. “
Their testimony has given the Indian crypto community hope that India will regulate cryptocurrencies rather than imposing an outright ban.
However, according to the latest Reuters report, the senior official said there were plans to ban private crypto assets while promoting blockchain technology and fintech. He was quoted as saying:
We don’t have a problem with the technology. There is no harm in using the technology.
He made it clear that the government’s steps would be “calibrated” to the extent of the penalties for those who did not liquidate crypto assets within the grace period of the law.
In the 2019 published bill on cryptocurrency, the inter-ministerial committee responsible for drafting the bill recommended a “prison of up to 10 years for people who mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose of, spend or trade in cryptocurrencies” Officials declined to discuss details in this area.
Meanwhile, Indian crypto traders are enjoying the crypto boom as the price of Bitcoin has hit all-time highs several times in the past few months. Leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the country have reported record trading volumes and new numbers of new users. “Money multiplies rapidly every month and you don’t want to sit on the sidelines,” Reuters quoted a crypto trader named Sumnesh Salodkar as saying. “Although people panic over the potential ban, greed drives these decisions.”
Do you think India will continue to ban Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.
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