India is about to postpone the highly anticipated crypto bill in the legislature, given that it is not ready yet and is close to the end of the year.
The cryptocurrency bill is unlikely to get introduced during the current parliament session as the government has yet to finish the details of the legislation, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants more consultations on the matter before finishing the legislation that would rule digital currencies in the country. There is not enough time as the current session reaches its end this Thursday, December 23; The people asked not to get identified as the discussions are private. Furthermore, the Cabinet has not passed the proposed legislation.
Likewise, the calendar for the last week of the parliament session removed the cryptocurrency bill from the list of businesses revealed on its website. However, the government could still introduce the legislation through an ordinance in periods of parliament inactivity.
The bill intends to help the central bank create an official digital currency. On the other hand, the legislation sought to set a ban on all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows various exceptions to encourage the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies and their utility.
On the other hand, right after the information got revealed, Subhash Garg rejected the ban of private cryptocurrencies with an argument that defends the action as a simple misunderstanding. The former minister highlighted the enormous potential of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology. Subhash Garg is the creator of the bill.
India and Crypto
India accounts for nearly 1.4 billion people and is one of the fastest-growing markets for cryptocurrency trading worldwide, but the country has a complicated relationship with virtual currencies.
The central bank had prohibited crypto transactions in 2018, but the Supreme Court struck down the restriction last year. And in May of this year, the body assured that the path was only regulation, not prohibition.
Calls for more harsh rules increased amid concerns that an unregulated environment could draw more investors into volatile assets. The crypto market in India has increased at least 641% in June 2021, according to an October report from Chainalysis.
The bill got rewritten to make it more current concerning current legislation, said previously the Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, who has also expressed about Bitcoin that a futuristic thing cannot get excluded. Positions between different bodies come and go. While the Reserve Bank desired to ban cryptocurrencies, the Executive considers cryptocurrencies a financial asset.
Crypto and the Blockage
Among the positions against crypto, the most recent is the position of India’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Meenakshi Lekni, which said that cryptocurrencies should face a blockage if they serve illegal purposes. This position appeared at the same time that the Indian government was making changes to the crypto bill.
The minister moved on by saying that cryptocurrency platforms and exchanges get owned by a group of people trying to evade taxes, taking money out of the country without benefiting the country where they produce this wealth.
By: Jenson Nuñez
