There is no proposal to recognize Bitcoin as a currency at India

By Selena On Nov 29, 2021

The winter session of the India Parliament has begun today, and as expected, Bitcoin is also on the agenda. Out of the 26 tabulated bill bills, the cryptocurrency bill is one of them, with the same content that has fueled a lot of FUD lately.

India: No proposal to recognize Bitcoin as a currency

The country’s Finance Minister has stated that there are no proposals to recognize Bitcoin as a currency. The response mentioned above is part of a written response to the House of Representatives.

While more clarity is set to emerge in this context, several reports have stated that Indian authorities plan to offer cryptocurrency as an asset. In addition, others argue that cryptocurrencies will not be accepted as legal tender. In addition, the minister also told Parliament that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.

#Parliamentwintersession | FM In Parliament
No proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency

Here’s more#cryptocurrency #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/DYXGTobDQ3

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) November 29, 2021

This is a crucial piece of information, especially since some bodies associated with the ruling party had called for central regulation of crypto. For instance, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch’s (SJM) Co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan had suggested that crypto-data around mining and transactions be stored only on domestic servers.

“Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India. RBI has vide its circular dated May 31st, 2021, advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and obligations of regulated entities under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002 in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for overseas remittances”, As far as its legality is concerned, the Ministry of Finance said in a written note.

Also notable is that the opposition recently accused the ruling party and Prime Minister of India of a Bitcoin scam cover-up. In Parliament earlier today, the government answered that question.

“Information in the public domain suggests that a case of cybercrime involving Bitcoin has been under examination by the Karnataka police.”

The govt. also added that Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) had taken legal action as per law provisions against the offenders. Worth noting that the government believes further disclosure of information in the matter is not in the larger public interest.

In terms of CBDCs, the central bank has also submitted a proposal to Congress. At the same time, it aims to amend the RBI Act to include digital currency, the finance minister noted.

It is also worth noting here that RBI is working on a phased implementation strategy to introduce Central Bank Digital Currency to Indian users. This would allow for an expansion of the reach of paper money without much impact on financial markets.

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