The Indian government does not intend to outright ban cryptocurrencies, but rather to regulate them as ‘assets.’ According to a cabinet note viewed by a private TV station, the country’s markets watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), will be in charge.
This backs up Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement earlier this week that Bitcoin is not recognised as a payment currency in India. India, on the other hand, is developing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), which will be regulated and overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Citizens will be required to declare their crypto assets and retain them on Indian exchanges, according to the memo. They won’t be able to retain cryptocurrency on international exchanges or in private wallets any longer.
When the bill is signed into law, people will have a certain amount of time to transfer their assets to meet these requirements. Failure to do so could result in fines ranging from $5 million to $20 million.
Furthermore, India intends to alter its Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to include cryptocurrency-related measures. The government, according to Sitharaman, is actively monitoring the hazards that cryptocurrencies pose. In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for global collaboration from democratic nations to regulate the sector and protect the youth, citing the volatile nature of digital tokens.
“The industry has been actively talking with all stakeholders while maintaining investor protection at the forefront,” Ashish Singhal, the co-chair of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) and the founder and CEO of CoinSwitch Kuber, told Business Insider India.
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