Just a while back, the Indian government showed concerns over the growing popularity of Bitcoin. The government even said that they plan to ban the cryptocurrency in favour of a homemade digital coin. But after this statement, the 2021 budget came out, and since Bitcoin was not mentioned in the same, we expected that there is still time for the ban. And at least the government is not taking it very seriously. But now a report from the Quint suggests that the ban is near. The publication also mentioned that the government would give time to investors to exit their holdings. Indian investors want Bitcoin, but the government does not.
Statement of the Indian Government
An official of the finance ministry of India said that they are going to ban Bitcoin by passing a new law in the Indian parliament. It will ban Indian investors from trading bitcoin even through foreign exchanges. There is nothing good about this, but at least investors won’t lose access to their investments as the ban won’t happen overnight. In fact, the government will allow a period of 3-6 months for Indian investors to exit their holdings and take their money.
The official also said that India will follow a similar regulatory law of China that has banned all trading of cryptos completely. So much for India against China. The government has been planning this ban since 2019 but with the increase hype of the cryptocurreny market they are speeding up the process.
Thoughts!
This doesn’t make sense at all. The Indian government plans to ban Bitcoin and other private cryptocurrencies. But at the same time they want to use the same tech and create an Indian digital coin. And this will be backed by the RBI and hence maybe even taxable. We Indian investors want Bitcoin, but now it seems the government just wants to ban stuff they deem unprofitable. If the US and other countries haven’t banned crypto, then why India. Even in 2018, when a ban was enforced by the Indian government, it was overruled by the Supreme Court.
Even the crypto trading apps are worried about the ban. The CEO of Unocoin said that if the India bans cryptocurrney there is no meaning of continuing their business in India. And what he said is absolutely right. I think if the government bans cryptocurreny we should boycott the Indian coin. Do note that I am not against made in India but sometimes having things decetralized is better like Bitcoin is.
Do you think that banning cryptocurrney is the right move? At least from my perspective I don’t think so. Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative and you are one of us who wants Bitcoin then please like and share the article with your friends and family.
Also Read: America’s oldest bank BNY Mellon to offer crypto services
