india bans bitcoin
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India will propose a law banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone who trades in the country or even owns such digital assets.
The bill, one of the world's toughest policies against cryptocurrencies, would criminalize the possession, issuance, mining, trading and transfer of cryptoassets, said the official, who has direct knowledge of the plan.
The measure is in line with a January government program that called for a ban on private virtual currencies such as bitcoin while creating a framework for an official digital currency. But recent government comments had raised investors' hopes that the authorities could more easily enter the booming market.
Instead, the bill would give cryptocurrency holders up to six months to liquidate, after which penalties will be imposed, said the official, who asked not to be named because of the contents of the bill. law is not public.
Officials are confident the bill will be enacted as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government holds a comfortable majority in parliament.
If the ban became law, India would be the first major economy to make the holding of cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, doesn't penalize possession.
The finance ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
"HAVE" ON "PANIC"
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, hit a record high of $ 60,000 on Saturday, nearly doubling in value this year as its payment acceptance increased with the backing of backers as prestigious as Tesla Inc CEO Elon. Musk.
In India, despite threats of a ban from the government, transaction volumes are increasing and 8 million investors now hold 100 billion rupees ($ 1.4 billion) in crypto-investments, according to industry estimates. No official data is available.
“Money is multiplying rapidly every month and you don't want to stay away,” said Sumnesh Salodkar, a crypto-investor. “Even though people are panicking over the potential ban, greed is driving these choices.”
User registrations and cash inflows on local cryptocurrency exchange Bitbns have increased 30-fold from last year, said Gaurav Dahake, its chief executive. Unocoin, one of India's oldest exchanges, added 20,000 users in January and February, despite fears of a ban.
ZebPay "made as much volume per day in February 2021 as we did in February 2020," said Vikram Rangala, director of marketing for the exchange.