New Delhi, India: At a time when the central government is exploring new legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies, media sources on Tuesday indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will likely set a deadline for crypto holders to register their assets and comply with any new rules. According to the suggestions, offenders of the new cryptocurrency restrictions might be fined up to RS 20 crore ($2.7 million) or imprisoned for up to 1.5 years.
According to Bloomberg, the Centre may propose imposing a minimum investment level in crypto assets to protect small investors.
The news comes as India prepares to name a capital markets regulator to supervise cryptocurrency. According to the article, the new cryptocurrency bill will most likely refer to ‘cryptoassets’ rather than ‘cryptocurrencies,’ and will not include the central bank’s ambition to develop its own digital currency.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated last week that the government had modified a previous draught that recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies in order to account for new developments. She did say, though, that there was no proposal in the country to recognise Bitcoin as a currency.
According to a research released in October by Chainalysis, a crypto-analysis business, the crypto market in India grew 641 percent in the year leading up to June 2021.
Last week, Foreign Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged for “joint global action” to ensure that ever-changing technologies and tech-driven financial systems are effectively regulated. Her remarks are also made in the context of the government planning to introduce legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies.
She noted at the InFinity Forum 2021 that technology knows no physical boundaries and has the ability to cross them. “… It means that the only way to properly govern is through global action.”
India is working on a new cryptocurrency bill that will take into consideration the fast changing dimensions of the virtual currency ecosystem and will be introduced in Parliament before the end of the current session on December 23.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, aims to “provide a conducive environment for the formation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.” The bill also aims to outlaw all private cryptocurrencies in India, but it makes exceptions to encourage cryptocurrency’s core technology and applications.”