MUMBAI (Reuters) – India plans to introduce a law to ban private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and put in place a framework for official digital money issued by the central bank, according to a government-listed legislative agenda.
The law will create “an easy framework for the creation of the official digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),” said the agenda, published on the website of the lower house Friday.
The legislation, which is listed for debate in the ordinary parliamentary session, seeks to “ban all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for exceptions specifically promote and use basic cryptocurrency technology, ”the agenda said.
In mid-2019, an Indian government panel recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies, with a prison term of up to 10 years and a heavy fine for anyone dealing in digital currencies.
The panel, however, has called on the government to consider launching official digital currency in India, to operate as banknotes, through the Reserve Bank of India.
The RBI had ordered in April 2018 financial institutions to break all ties with individuals or businesses dealing in virtual currencies such as bitcoin within three months.
However, in March 2020, the Indian Supreme Court allowed banks to handle cryptocurrency transactions from exchanges and traders, overturning a central bank ban if that would have treated the successful industry as a major blow.
Governments around the world have been looking into ways to regulate cryptocurrencies but no major economy has taken a drastic step to ban a widespread ban on their ownership, even though concerns have been raised. about the misuse of consumer data and its potential impact on the financial system.
Reciting with Rajendra Jadhav; Edited by Alasdair Pal