The Indian government has taken a surprising step by introducing a bill to ban private cryptocurrencies and plans to create a framework for a central bank-backed digital currency.
The bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha, says the proposed bill aims to ban all private cryptocurrencies in India, according to AFP.
The move comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned last week that the bitcoin was a threat to the younger generation and could hurt our youth if it fell into the wrong hands.
This is the latest move by a major emerging economy since China outlawed all cryptocurrency transactions in September.
In April last year, the Indian Supreme Court overturned a previous ban on cryptocurrencies, which led to a surge in the cryptocurrency market in India and a rise of more than 600 percent.
In Asia’s third-largest economy, between 15 million and 100 million people own cryptocurrencies, valued at billions of dollars, but the future of investing in the currency is uncertain.
The SBP announced in June that it was working to introduce its digital currency by the end of this year while raising serious concerns about bitcoin, ether, and other private cryptocurrencies.
The bill, to be introduced in the new legislature, will allow for some exceptions to the development of cryptocurrency technology, although no further details have been released on the proposed legislation.
However, despite the announcement, the market value of the bitcoin appears to be unaffected and the currency rose further 1.6 percent in India on Tuesday, but local traders and buyers are looking worried after the announcement.
Kashif Raza, the founder of the crypto education platform Butting, said the words had created panic and the industry expected the government to adopt a more favorable view after recent consultations with them.
Cryptocurrency has been scrutinized by Indian regulators since entering the domestic market for the first time in 2013.
In 2016, counterfeit crypto transactions increased after the cancellation of almost all banknotes by the Modi government, which led the country’s central bank to ban crypto transactions in April 2018.
The ban was lifted by the Supreme Court two years later, and crypto investment has increased since then.
In recent months in India, advertisements of television channels, online streaming services and other domestic crypto exchanges including Coin DCX, Coin Switch Cobber on social media have been circulating in the Indian media.
These platforms spent over Rs 500 million on advertisements during the recently concluded T20 World Cup and averaged 51 cryptocurrency advertisements per match.
Analysts say the bill is being introduced to address security risks as cryptocurrencies are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals as a result of rising currency prices.
The market price of Ojud Bitcoin looks unaffected and the currency rose further 1.6 percent in India on Tuesday, but local traders and buyers are looking worried after the announcement.
Kashif Raza, the founder of the crypto education platform Butting, said the words had created panic and the industry expected the government to adopt a more favorable view after recent consultations with them.
Cryptocurrency has been scrutinized by Indian regulators since entering the domestic market for the first time in 2013.
In 2016, counterfeit crypto transactions increased after the cancellation of almost all banknotes by the Modi government, which led the country’s central bank to ban crypto transactions in April 2018.
The ban was lifted by the Supreme Court two years later, and crypto investment has increased since then.
In recent months in India, advertisements of television channels, online streaming services and other domestic crypto exchanges including Coin DCX, Coin Switch Cobber on social media have been circulating in the Indian media.
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These platforms spent over Rs 500 million on advertisements during the recently concluded T20 World Cup and averaged 51 cryptocurrency advertisements per match.
Analysts say the bill is being introduced to address security risks as cryptocurrencies are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals as a result of rising currency prices.
