Crypto bill ready to be presented during Monsoon Session of Parliament, says FM Sitharaman

India, like many other major countries, is closer to regulating cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a recent interview with The Hindu revealed that the country is itching to regulate the crypto coins. She revealed that India’s crypto bill is now ready to be presented during the Parliament Monsoon Session. The bill was originally expected in the Budget session.

Nirmala Sitharaman speaks about the Cryptocurrency Bill India

The Union Finance Minister recently said that the new Crypto bill is on its way. She said that the government has taken inputs from industry stakeholders to prepare the document. The FM’s revelation comes after continued enquiries regarding India’s crypto bill, which has been in the works for over two years now.

Speaking in the interview, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government has put a lot of effort into the bill. She said that the stakeholders’ inputs were taken and the Cabinet note was also ready. She gave hope to the Indian crypto community by saying that the bill will soon be moved. As of now, the bill consisting of the new laws to regulate cryptocurrencies in India could be up for debate during the next session of the Parliament which will be held on July 19.

The bill was originally listed for the Budget session held from February to March. However, it was not tabled at the time, causing some worries amongst the industry stakeholders. Many believe that the decision to not table the bill could have been taken following the second COVID-19 wave hit during the time.

The Indian government on Crypto

The Indian government’s stance on cryptocurrencies remains to stay unclear. The original Crypto bill was expected to ‘ban all private cryptocurrencies.' It was rumoured to set a new framework to form a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could be regulated. The government was believed to be against the decentralised currencies. However, this has changed since.

Sitharaman earlier said that the government is considering a 'calibrated' approach to crypto, ruling out chances of a ban on the same. This was once again put into question when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to withdraw services from cryptocurrency exchanges. According to a recent report by Chainalysis, Indian investment in cryptocurrencies grew from $200 million in 2019 to $40 billion in 2020, pointing at a huge interest in the market.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH/ PTI