India forms panel to study the possibility of regulating cryptocurrency, reconsidering India’s comprehensive ban Bitcoin
As reported by Economic Times, the Indian government is in the process of reviewing India’s comprehensive ban on cryptocurrencies. And to begin with, India could form an expert panel to study the possibility of regulating cryptocurrency regulation.
India is reportedly forming a panel to study the possibility of regulating cryptocurrencies, rejecting the overarching ban
The Council’s upcoming task may be to research blockchain applications to advance the technology and propose solutions to regulate cryptocurrencies as digital assets instead of currencies. This comes as the government is concerned with the recommendations of former Finance Minister Subhash Garg in 2019 for a comprehensive ban on these assets. According to them, the aforementioned ban needs a new look.
A government official said:
“There is a view in government circles that the recommendations made by Subhash Garg are dated and require a fresh look at crypto use rather than an outright ban.”
The Commission may also be asked to study ways to operate the Digital Rupee proposed by the Reserve Bank of India. These discussions are in the early stages and no formal resolutions have yet been adopted.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance is also monitoring the growing volume of cryptocurrency transactions in India and is communicating with stakeholders about potential surveillance risks. The Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur, previously met with members from banking and crypto industry forums to discuss the matter.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s team is expected to brief her later this month on ongoing developments in the crypto space, amid the demand for cryptocurrencies across exchanges. transactions increased. Both Sitharaman and Thakur have in recent months publicly stated that the government will take a new approach in regulating cryptocurrencies rather than imposing an outright ban.
Cryptocurrencies and Regulations of the Official Digital Currency Bill of 2021 was expected to be presented during the Parliamentary Budget session in March. However, it was postponed because of a few reasons.
It is expected that the proposed law will be presented in the upcoming meeting. The draft legislation is based on the recommendations of the Garg committee. The bill is expected to criminalize not only trading but also crypto-asset holding, which has been a major disappointment for the nascent crypto industry in India.
In 2018, the RBI banned all banks from allowing customers to trade cryptocurrencies. However, the Supreme Court overturned the ban in February 2020 following a lawsuit filed by Indian crypto entrepreneurs and internet and technology industry association IAMAI.
Read more:
- Three Associations Under The Central Bank Of China Reiterated Their Stance On Banning Bitcoin And Crypto Services On May 18th
- The Crypto Rating Council Has Published Its Rubric For Appraising Whether Or Not A Cryptocurrency Is A Security