NEW DELHI: This winter session, the Indian government is all set to introduce a bill banning private crypto players and set a framework for an official crypto currency regulated by the RBI. The government has been considering this ban for some time now. ALSO READ: PM Modi Chairs High-Level Meeting On Cryptocurrency & Its Linkage To Money Laundering, Terror Financing: Sources
A Lok Sabha bulletin released on Tuesday mentions the Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, that calls for putting together a facilitative framework for the creation of an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. It, however, allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. ALSO READ & WATCH: Universal Dilemma: Why Does Cryptocurrency Pose Worries?
There are more than 14,000 cryptocurrencies in the world that are traded publicly. The most popular cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin with the market capitalisation of more than $ 1 trillion, Ethereum with the market capitalization of more than $492 billion.
The RBI has said several times that the cryptocurrencies pose a risk to financial stability, but the last two years have seen close to 10,000 Indians investing in Crypto.
Worldwide, countries are divided on the subject of cryptocurrencies. Iran banned cryptocurrency in May this year, while El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in September this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 13 chaired a comprehensive meeting on the way forward for cryptocurrency and related issues, government sources told The New Indian.
China has also maintained restrictions on crypto currencies. China started putting restrictions on crypto transactions in 2013 when PBOC (People’s Bank of China) restricted banks to not participate in Bitcoin transaction. Four years later in 2017 payment gateways allowing crypto were also banned. However the complete ban was announced in June this year. ALSO READ & WATCH: Hallo Dolls, Guten Tag: German Lady In Dharamshala Bringing Tibet Closer To Its Women