New Delhi: The government is likely to table a Bill in the winter session to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, subject to certain exceptions, to promote the underlying technology and its uses.
The government's objective is "to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India."
Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies. Against this backdrop, PM Modi, earlier this month, held a meeting with senior officials, from which came indications that strong regulatory steps could be taken to deal with the issue.
Recently, there has been a spike in advertisements, some of them featuring film stars, promising easy and high returns on investments in cryptocurrencies; witgh that has emanated concern that such currencies are being allegedly used for luring investors with misleading claims.
Last week, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha, met the representatives of crypto exchanges, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), among others, and concluded that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but be regulated.
