The government of India allow the legalization of cryptocurrency. According to local newspaper TheNewIndianExpress (TNIE), the members of the special Committee formed by the government to study the issue, are not in favor of the prohibition of digital assets, but I think the need for strict supervision of the industry.
“We have already held two meetings. It was generally agreed that the cryptocurrency can not be considered completely illegal. It should be legalized in the conditions of rigid regulation. The discussion continues,” he told TNIE anonymous source from the senior officials present at the panel discussion.
It is noteworthy that during the previous meeting in the Indian government, held in the beginning of the month, it was proposed to introduce a complete ban on cryptocurrency transactions in the country. In particular, it was noted that “any activity with such currencies should be declared illegal”.
The government reportedly has created a new interdepartmental Committee, under the leadership of the Secretary of the Department of economic Affairs of Subhash Chandra Garga (Subhash Chandra Garg) after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a ban on the interaction of financial institutions with the representatives of the cryptocurrency companies and individuals related to bitcoin, in April of this year. The Committee gathered members of the Ministry of economy and information technology, RBI, the Board of securities and exchange Board of India and experts on the procedures of recognition of income.
According to TNIE, that the next meeting will be held in January, and a report on the results of the discussions will be submitted to the Finance Ministry by February.
The source said that Committee members “have also received information from cryptocurrency exchanges and experts”, and that he will work closely with the Indian Ministry of justice to develop the legal aspects of the future regulations.
While the previous Committee in March 2017 recommended a total ban on the circulation of cryptocurrency, a new Committee, according to the publication, was created to develop a formal position based on the conflicting opinions on the subject. However, in October of this year, the media wrote that the members of the Committee proposed to develop “an appropriate legal framework to ban the use of private cryptocurrency in India.”
As you know, after the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank, stock exchanges continued to find a way to save your business, submitting a petition to the Supreme court. Noting the need for the creation of a guide, the court in October asked the government to clarify the position on cryptocurrencies in the next two weeks.
It is worth noting that one of the factors easing could be the result of the discussion at the global level: at the beginning of the month, G20 countries urged to establish rules of taxation of cryptocurrencies and increase regulation of industry to prevent the use of digital tokens for money laundering.
Some of the members of the second Indian Cabinet Committee, among whom was the Executive Director of RBI Ganesh Kumar (Ganesh Kumar) and officials of the Ministry of Finance, participated in the G20 meetings. Because, says TNIE, expect “insight global debate”, which formed the basis of the Declaration made in Buenos Aires.
Meanwhile, in October it became known that the developers of India’s first “bitcoin ATM” was arrested. According to local media, two of the developers, who are also the founders of India’s first cryptocurrency exchange, Unocoin, was prosecuted for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
In a press statement of the Central Department for the fight against crime India it is noted that the operation of such ATMs have not been sanctioned by the government, and the device was not supposed to be called ATM. Advocate Prashant Mali (Prashant Mali) specializing in cyber crimes, said that if the device is listed as “kiosk” instead of “ATM”, the installation would not fall into the “gray area” of law.
We will note, along with a similar strict measures against the industry, India has for some time discussed the possibility of issuing government currency.
