Ever since the Indian government listed a cryptocurrency bill to be taken up in parliament during the upcoming session that starts next week, much debate has transpired about whether the government will ban cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ether.

Crypto Regulator Is Coming, but There Are Conflicting Accounts about What Is Inside It

Indian crypto legislation is near. The Indian government has listed a cryptocurrency bill to be taken up in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, for the winter session which starts on Monday, Nov. 29.

The bill titled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” seeks to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.”

Much debate has transpired about whether the Indian government will ban cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

The crypto bill has not been made publicly and the government has not issued any statements about it. Many publications and industry insiders speculated on the matter and quoted various sources.

Kumar Gaurav is the CEO of cryptocurrency banking platform Cashaa. He tweeted Wednesday:

I just got off with a call with a few high-level officials from MOF [Ministry of Finance]. Although there is not a complete ban, the directive is to regulate crypto according to FATF guidelines.

Gaurav stated that crypto will be a class of assets regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India. Crypto exchanges will have to apply for licenses from this regulator. He wrote, “All positive notes.”

AvinashShekhar, coCEO of Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay told CNBC’s “Squawk box Asia” that Thursday:

My belief is that we will have some kind of coherent regulation, but on the tougher side.

Shekhar said: “There have been a lot of positive vibes coming from the government. Two weeks ago, we met with the finance committee of Parliament…. We are receiving the message from the government that they want some form of regulation. But not a complete ban .”

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Tanvi Rahna, CEO at Policy 4.0 commented that “Yes, it is expected that the government would pass legislation in this session.” However, it may not be a complete legislation … It is expected that some basic coins such as BTC, ETH etc could be allowed in some form.”

Some media outlets reported that the government plans to ban all cryptocurrency and only regulate central bank digital currencies. This will be done by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Priyanka chaturvedi is a Rajya Sabha member. She commented on the news that the Indian government was planning to ban cryptocurrency via Twitter:

If true, this is a recipe for disaster India doesn’t need. Banning all crypto currencies private is effectively killing the space and robbing India from creating an ecosystem for Fintech.

The Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), issued a statement Thursday asserting that “a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies will encourage non-state players thereby leading to more unlawful usage of such currencies.”

Last Wednesday, the Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi called on all democratic countries to cooperate on cryptocurrency. He said that it should not be in “wrong hands” and that this could lead to “spoiled youth.” The Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance also met with representatives of the crypto industry.

Do you think India will ban cryptocurrencies like bitcoin? Comment below.

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