The riddle of whether to ban Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in India has yet to find its answer. While the discussions on whether there will be a ban continue, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman answered the questions asked about Bitcoin at the Parliament meeting held today.
Asked whether Bitcoin will be recognized as legal currency by the Indian government, Finance Minister Sitharaman replied, “The Indian government has no plans to recognize Bitcoin as legal currency.” said.
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also added that the government does not collect any data on Bitcoin transactions.
These statements of the Finance Minister are in support of the draft “Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Act Regulation” proposed by the government and which will be discussed at the winter session of the Indian Parliament.
According to the bill submitted by the government, all private cryptocurrencies will be banned, but only some cryptocurrencies will be exempted from the bans to promote the promotion and use of the underlying technology.
The crypto bill submitted by the government aims to establish a framework for a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-backed digital currency. In this context, the RBI is working on the phased implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). As part of the studies, a CBDC pilot test is planned in 2022.
Within the framework of the crypto currency discussions on the Indian front, a CNN reporter in India recently announced that according to the information from the government, there will not be a complete ban on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but strict regulations will come.
*Not investment advice.