Indian media, citing senior government officials, reported that the country will propose a new bill that would completely block all cryptocurrencies and impose fines on those who trade or even hold related virtual assets in the country.
The bill could hit millions of digital currency investors in India hard. The bill would be one of the toughest policies on cryptocurrencies in the world, with holding, issuing, mining, trading and transferring crypto assets all constituting crimes, sources said. And the bill would give cryptocurrency holders up to six months to liquidate, after which remaining in possession would be punishable.
If the ban becomes law, India will become the first major economy to outlaw the possession of cryptocurrencies.
As early as January of this year, the Indian government proposed an agenda calling for a ban on private virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, while creating a framework for an official digital currency.
According to industry expectations, India’s 8 million investors currently hold about 100 billion rupees (about HK$10.7 billion) worth of cryptocurrencies. However, official figures are still not available for the Time being.
However, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified in an interview that the so-called proposed cryptocurrency ban is not closing all cryptocurrency windows. And refers to the relevant comments made separately and the Supreme Court, while the central bank may call for the introduction of a central bank digital currency, but stressed that it is not to close all cryptocurrency options.
She said officials will allow citizens to use a certain window to experiment with blockchain, bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, a cabinet meeting has been held to discuss cryptocurrencies, and relevant programs will be launched soon.
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