According to an English-speaking local publication, a new governmental committee in India is in favor of legalizing cryptocurrency assets in the country. The report is from Wednesday, December 26th, and has statements from a senior official that preferred to remain under anonymity.
“There is a general consensus that cryptocurrency cannot be dismissed as completely illegal. It needs to be legalized with strong riders,” he stated during a panel meeting this week, possibly paving the way for digital assets to be officially included in the country’s economic landscape.
Said piece of news comes in the middle of an industry-wide collapse that has seen Bitcoin going from the $6,200-$6,500 range at the beginning of November to $3,800 at the time of this writing, although it hovered in the $3,200 range in recent days.
A Change in Course?
Just a couple of weeks ago, in early December, there was another Indian government panel meeting in which the use and legality of cryptocurrencies were condemned, even suggesting a complete ban. “Any kind of dealing in such currencies should be treated as illegal,” officials stated at the time.
Governmental authorities set a second meeting up following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to ban banks from dealing with crypto businesses and persons back in April. Subhash Chandra Garg, of the Department of Economic Affairs secretary, leads the inter-ministerial committee.
The most recent committee is trying to implement a change in course in the Asian nation after a previous one had opted to support the decision to recommend a full-fledge ban of cryptocurrencies last year, most specifically in March.
A New Committee is set Up for January
Amid the conflict of interests in Asia’s nation, the next committee is, reportedly, going to take place in January. Two gatherings have already occurred; People from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the RBI, Securities,
The unnamed staffer also stated that members of the committee “have also taken inputs from cryptocurrency exchanges and experts,” and added that they would work on the legal framework with the country’s law ministry.
The discussion about the legalization of crypto assets is taking place in several locations of the world. For instance, G20 nations recently defended the taxation of cryptocurrencies and expanded on the importance of finding common ground regarding regulatory frameworks, in an effort to avoid their use for illicit purposes such as money laundering.
Gathering Insights for the Next Committee
Indian authorities such as the RBI Executive Director Ganesh Kumar and Ministry of Finance officials took part in the G20 gathering. They are expected to “include insights they gained from the global deliberations in their report,” according to the press publication.
The country has not escaped the performance of illicit activity with crypto assets. For instance, the people that developed the first Indian Bitcoin ATM were taken into custody on criminal charges, such as forgery and cheating.
By Andres Chavez
