India is still flirting with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. The Indian Parliament’s winter sessions started, and, as it turns out, BTC won’t be the star of the show. Actually, the Lower House of Parliament asked Finance Minister Point Blanc if there had been a proposal for Bitcoin to be recognized as currency. The answer was a resounding “no.”
According AMB Crypto:
“While more clarity is set to emerge in this context, some reports have claimed that the Indian administration is planning to make cryptocurrencies available as an asset. Some reports also suggest that cryptos may not be legal tender.
Additionally, the minister also told the Parliament that the “government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.”
This information was in the form a note. You can find the note hereThe Financial Ministe is that document.r also answered “whether the Government has allowed cryptocurrency exchanges as a legally permitted entity in India”:
“Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India. RBI has vide its circular dated May 31st, 2021, advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML).”
So, as you can read, it’s the same old script the other countries are using. Is this the reason for all of the confusion?
Mixed Signals Coming Out Of India
NewsBTC was involved in this case. It was just three weeks ago that we were discussing the India exchange’s remarkable growthWe were optimistic:
“The first discussions around regulation began back in those days. India’s crypto exchanges and investors participated in off-the-record meetings with law enforcement agencies and banks hoping to reach a point of amicability.
The expectations are for the government to classify bitcoin as an asset class and for the Securities and Exchange Board of India to regulate cryptocurrencies and bring clarity, closing the doors to another ban.”
However, just a week ago, we reported that the Reserve Bank of India “is Set to Launch its CBDC By December” And what was that news seasoned with? Of course, a ban
“A bill was recently presented, and sets to shake things up for many of big name coins in India. The ‘Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency’ bill will create a facilitative framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, and that will look to ban all private cryptocurrencies, which includes Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Given the circumstances, it was fair. In early 2018, the Reserve Bank of India banned the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies by entities under the RBI’s jurisdiction.
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What’s The Indian Parliament’s Current Position?
Two headlines were generated by the meeting with the Financial Minister. There’s no proposal to recognize Bitcoin as currency and the government doesn’t collect Bitcoin transaction data. The blockchain, however, is an immutable ledger. They don’t have to collect a thing, it’s all there.
https://twitter.com/CNBCTV18Live/status/1465214083771158528
AMBcrypto considers it to be:
“A crucial piece of information, especially since some bodies associated with the ruling party had called for central regulation of crypto. For instance, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch’s (SJM) Co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan had suggested that crypto-data around mining and transactions be stored only on domestic servers.”
Asian News International reported on the same event from a different angle. “This is a risky area & not in a complete regulatory framework. No decision was taken on banning its advertisements.”
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1465586448489279490
Subhash Garg (ex-Finance Secretary) clarified the situation. Subhash Garg created the bill, which seemed to be aimed at banning all cryptocurrencies from India. Cointelegraph reports:
“In an interview with local news channel News 18, Garg clarified:
“[The description of the crypto bill]It was possibly a mistake. It is misleading to say that private cryptocurrencies will be banned and to intimate the government about the same.”
So, by “private cryptocurrencies” he didn’t mean Bitcoin or Ethereum. It was.
Still, India’s confusion about cryptocurrencies is the main topic here. They don’t seem to know what to do about them over there.
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