India Reconsiders Its Ban on Cryptocurrencies
The Indian government is reportedly said to reconsider its previous proposed ban on cryptocurrencies and all related transactions. This has led to its Ministry of Finance making inquiries regarding the issue. The development is believed that it was ignited after the Supreme Court rejected the ban set up by India’s central bank.
This was the latest announcement made by India’s Parliament and started with private cryptocurrencies and then later banned all crypto assets. However, the draft was under consideration as the government made efforts to clear its stance towards crypto assets. The government also announced that it would be reconsidering the implementation of its own Central Bank Digital Currency.
We must note that India has remained in the spotlight regarding cryptocurrency regulations way back in the years. The development led to the introduction of the “Ban and Regulating of Official Digital Currency” bill in 2019. The bill, however, laid down sanctions and jail terms for offenders.
India’s Crypto Industry
Following the draft bill’s announcement, top heads in the crypto community joined hands to fight off a total ban. They resolved towards getting a regulatory approach as the community has split over the past developments.
CEO of crypto exchange WazirX, Nischal Shetty, shared his opinion on the matter arising from the announcement. He said that innovative technology would be antagonized by people that are not knowledgeable about it. He expressed his displeasure by saying that it is absurd to ban a technology that cannot be banned in the real sense. Being against the ban, he recommends that the next step is to get the government to involve the crypto industry in policy-making. He said that it would help in the formulation of the right crypto regulations in India.
Reconsideration
India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has talked about the ban. She believes that India does not decide to go against technological advancements around the globe. She said that the ban on cryptocurrency would be a major setback in India’s efforts to get ahead of the whole world. Sitharaman buttressed her point by saying that the ministry of finance is finding ways to test-run digital advancements, such as cryptocurrencies.
In this regard, Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of CoinDCX said that Sitharaman’s announcement is part of the government’s decision to digitize India and make it an able country on all sides.