In India, cryptocurrency was a hot topic in 2021, as the government had been planning to introduce a crypto bill since the year started. However, with 2021 now gone and 2022 in full swing, the crypto bill remains to be introduced in the Indian Parliament. The tabling of the bill was all set to go forward in the Parliament’s winter session. However, with two days of the winter session to go towards the end of December, government sources revealed that the bill’s introduction would have to wait.
The bill has two primary aims. The first of those aims is to put a stop to all private cryptocurrencies. However, the Indian government’s definition of ‘private cryptocurrencies’ remains unclear. The second was to lay down the framework for the creation of a CBDC or Central Bank Digital Currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Players in the country’s cryptocurrency industry were worried that any serious move against it would wipe out a lot of the gains that the industry has made in recent years. However, now that the bill’s tabling has been withdrawn, crypto advocates in India are breathing a temporary sigh of relief.
However, many experts in the country have called on the government to draft regulations for cryptocurrencies temporarily. The experts suggest that the crypto market’s decentralized nature is a cause for concern, as it can be used by those with malicious intent for illicit purposes. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has suggested on multiple occasions that cryptocurrencies shouldn’t undermine democracies. However, there’s still no word from the government as to what its next steps will be to regulate the crypto industry.
