The Indian government is reviewing parts of the previously drafted legislation to put a leash on the country’s booming cryptocurrency industry.
Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg Quint reported on Wednesday that the government along with regulators and other stakeholders are reviewing the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which was listed for the introduction in the last parliamentary session but could not occur.
The officials are reportedly discussing three key issues: whether to impose a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading; whether authorities can regulate the sector, instead of a ban; and on the categorization of allowed and prohibited crypto activities.
Though the government did not announce anything officially, the officials are reportedly considering all recommendations clause by clause and discussing the matter with regulators and technical experts.
A Roller Coaster Ride
This came when another local media house recently reported that the country is taking a U-turn from its previous stance against crypto and is considering labeling Bitcoin as an asset. However, the fate of altcoins was still in jeopardy.
It is to be seen if the south Asian country follows Thailand's footsteps to ban a large segment of the digital currencies while allowing crypto trading under heavy regulations.
Though an earlier government-formed panel recommended a ban on Cryptocurrencies , reports are suggesting that the government is planning to form a fresh panel to evaluate the crypto industry.
In addition, the local lenders have turned hostile towards the crypto industry and are denying services to even major cryptocurrency exchanges, mostly citing an internal policy of Risk Management . This forced the central bank to issue a clarification that the regulator permits banks to take crypto clients.
The Indian crypto industry received another blow when the financial crimes unit issued a notice to WazirX, the country’s largest crypto exchange, under suspicion of facilitating money laundering.
