Subhash Garg, the former Finance Secretary who drafted India’s crypto legislation, has criticized the notion of prohibiting “private cryptocurrencies” as a misreading of the legislation. The description of the cryptocurrency bill, Garg claimed, was “perhaps a mistake” when it was presented to the Indian Parliament during a presentation on cryptocurrency regulation. In an interview with a local television station, he said it was “misleading” to claim that private cryptocurrencies would be banned and that the government had been informed of the plan.
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Garg went on to say that he believes the Indian government should draught a cryptocurrency bill after consulting with stakeholders and cryptocurrency investors. Furthermore, the measure proposes a ban on private cryptocurrencies without specifying what the term “private” refers to in the first place. Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister, stated that the government was not aware that Bitcoin transactions have been quietly blossoming in the country in recent years when she was asked whether the government was aware of this. She also stated that at this time, there are no plans to recognize Bitcoin as a legitimate currency in the country.
Bitcoin’s underlying technology is known as blockchain technology. In the meantime, Minister Chaudhary underlined that cryptocurrencies remained uncontrolled in the Indian market. ‘The Reserve Bank of India has advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customers’ due diligence processes in accordance with regulations governing standards for know your customer, anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism, and obligations of regulated entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,‘ he explained. ”
As detailed in the legislative agenda for the winter session of the Lok Sabha, the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 seek to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, while allowing for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.” It also establishes “a facilitative framework for the formation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India,” according to the crypto legislation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has previously stated that it is developing a digital rupee, which it intends to introduce in stages.
