India’s Minister Says There Are No Plans to Recognize Bitcoin as Currency

On Monday, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Indian Finance Minister, said that the government has no proposals to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as a currency or legal tender. According to the Times of India, the Finance Minister pointed out that the officials also had no plans outlined to collect data on BTC transactions.

“No, sir,” Sitharaman replied when she was asked about the matter. As Finance Magnates recently reported, a new bill in India is set to ban all private cryptocurrencies in the nation and will be introduced in the upcoming winter session of its Parliament. According to the Times of India, ‘The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021’ is among the 26 bills to be introduced in that batch.

The bulletin listing details of the bill is as follows: “To create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.”

With the announcement, the government was paving the way to create the central bank digital currency (CBDC) mentioned in the bill, and it is expected to be launched at any time in 2022.

To Regulate or Not Regulate Cryptos?

In the last few months, mixed reports have been crossing wires about the Indian government’s stance towards the crypto regulation. Some authorities have suggested that digital assets should be banned only as a means of payment. Though, India is a major market for currencies. Additionally, many reports even put the country with the highest absolute number of crypto investors.

However, digital currencies are not regulated in India, like any other major country. Though the apex court of the country quashed a ban for banks to work with crypto companies, the government and other authorities in the country are still hostile against cryptocurrencies whose stance seems to have finally come to a resolution.