The Union finance minister said in Parliament on Monday that central government does not collect any data on bitcoin transactions. It also said that there is no proposal to recognise bitcoin as a currency in the country
The response was given the form of a written reply in the Lok Sabha on a question on cryptocurrency. A legislation seeking regulation of cryptocurrency will be discussed in the winter session of Parliament, which began on Monday.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, seeks to create a framework to regulate digital to be currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
According to the Lok Sabha website, the bill will also seek to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, barring certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its use.
Currently, there is no regulation or ban in the country on cryptocurrency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a meeting earlier this month where he discussed the issue with senior officials. The Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader member Jayant Sinha, met the representatives of crypto exchanges, blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), among others this month and arrived at a conclusion that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but regulated.
India has had a hot-and-cold relationship with cryptocurrencies in the past few years. In 2018, the country effectively banned crypto transactions, but the Supreme Court struck down the restriction in March 2020.
Through the cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, India is also looking to make a framework for the official digital currency that will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank has voiced “serious concerns” about private cryptocurrencies and is set to launch its own digital currency by December..
