Nagpur: The central government proposed to table a bill on cryptocurrency in the winter session of the parliament which is all set to commence from November 29. The bill seeks to ban all cryptocurrencies, except a few of them and also is planning to introduce a system to regulate the crypto transactions in India.
After the announcement by the Centre, the values of major currencies dropped at an all time low with Bitcoin and Tether losing the most. Bitcoin price on Wednesday declined to $55,460.96. Analysts believe that the ‘Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency’ bill has kept the cryptocurrency world under pressure.
The bulletin listing the legislative business on Lok Sabha’s website said, “The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.”
According to various sources, the central bank of India is also planning to bring its own digital currency. The bulletin further added, “To create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.”
The government’s decision to table the bill came after the members of the parliament concluded at a panel meeting on November 15 that cryptocurrencies cannot be ‘stopped’ and must be regulated. The RBI has been voicing serious concerns about cryptocurrencies since 2017.
The Indian crypto exchanges and industry bodies had published a joint advertisement, claiming that crypto investments by Indians have crossed Rs 6 lakh crore and the number of investors had grown to over 10 crores.