In the website of the lower house, the government of India published a proposed legislation to ban private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in India. However, the law will allow the use of blockchain technology. The law also seeks to establish an official digital currency to be issued by the nation’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI).
In 2018, a government panel recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies and proposed up to 10 years of jail time for offenders. The panel also suggested that the government should consider issuing a digital version of the currency in India. At the time, RBI said the move was necessary to curb “ring-fencing” of the country’s financial system.
The notice that the central bank sent in 2018 based on the findings of the panel, sent a panic to several local startups and companies offering services to trade in cryptocurrency. The traders and some exchanges filed lawsuit in the Supreme court which gave them a favourable verdict. This ruling was seen as “historic” but it did not impact the earlier circular on the policy level. Since then the traders and exchanges closed shop or moved over to other markets.
The recent increases in the Bitcoin prices has tempted many Indians to start trade in cryptocurrencies. Many have also started mining cryptocurrencies. But growth in cryptocurrency trading has also brought a surge in corruption and frauds. WazirX, BuyUcoin, CoinDCX, and CoinSwitch Kuber are cryptocurrency platforms that exists today in India.
Source: Gadgets360, YahooNews
