India plans to introduce a law to ban private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and put in place a framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the central bank, according to a legislative agenda listed by the government.
The law will “create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),” said the agenda, published on the lower house website on Friday.
The legislation, listed for debate in the current parliamentary session, seeks “to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses,” the agenda said.
In mid-2019, an Indian government panel recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies, with a jail term of up to 10 years and heavy fines for anyone dealing in digital currencies.
The panel has, however, asked the government to consider the launch of an official government-backed digital currency in India, to function like bank notes, through the Reserve Bank of India.
Governments around the world have been looking into ways to regulate cryptocurrencies but no major economy has taken the drastic step of placing a blanket ban on owning them, even though concern has been raised about the misuse of consumer data and its possible impact on the financial system.
Shivam Thakral, CEO, BuyUcoin said, “In the upcoming parliament budget session, Government is considering introducing ‘The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021‘. We urge the government to take opinion of all the stakeholders before taking a decision which may affect livelihood of the entire workforce employed in digital asset industry in India. We will engage with our peers and other stakeholders to work towards protecting the interest of the industry. We look forward to a constructive dialogue with the government to reach a consensus on creating a positive digital asset ecosystem in India”.
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