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Cryptocurrency Bill 2021: New crypto bill to be introduced in Parliament after Cabinet approval, says FM – Financial Express

Modi Govt to introduce Cryptocurrency Bill 2021 in Parliament during Winter Session.

Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in Parliament (Updates): The Government will introduce the much-awaited ‘The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021’ in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session. The Bill may be introduced in the coming days. It is not on the revised ‘List of Business’ of the Lok Sabha for November 30, 2021. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today (November 30) said in Rajya Sabha that a new crypto bill will be introduced in the House after approval from the Cabinet.

The Crypto industry is awaiting a positive regulation that may permit investing and trading in crypto with certain restrictions. The buzz around the Crypto Bill till now has been both positive and negative. The Crypto Bill is one of the many items on the list of bills to be introduced in Parliament during the Winter Session. Last week, confusion and panic gripped the crypto market in India as the wordings of the description of cryptocurrency bill on the list was the same as last year. It repeated the Govt’s intention to ban private cryptocurrencies. However, opinions are divided till now as to what the government means by using the term private cryptocurrency. For full clarity, we will have to wait till Cryptocurrency Bill 2021 comes into the public domain.

According to Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of crypto investment platform Mudrex, currently, there are more than 11,000 cryptocurrencies that are traded across exchanges. There is a lack of clarity in terms of what the government means by private cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, Ether and other cryptos are available across centralised and decentralised exchanges. However, all of these cryptos are created by developers or companies, and not by governments.

ALSO READ | Is it really possible to completely ban Cryptocurrency in India? Check experiences from other countries

“The term private cryptocurrencies is interesting because there was news about governments coming up with their own cryptocurrency. These cryptocurrencies are known as CBDCs or Central Bank Digital Currencies. There could be a possibility that these CBDCs are public cryptocurrencies and all others be classified under private cryptocurrencies. However, it will be interesting to see what comes under the ambit of private cryptocurrencies,” Patel told FE Online.

Track this space for all the buzz around Cryptocurrency Bill 2021 (Expectations, Details, Key Points, Expert Suggestions for Crypto Investors in India and More…

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today (November 30) said in Rajya Sabha that the Government will introduce a new crypto bill in the Parliament after Cabinet approval. The Finance Minister said that regulation of NFTs is also being discussed by the Centre.

Sitharaman said that the Government is close to bringing the crypto bill in Parliament. It will be introduced after approval from the Cabinet. 

“This is a risky area and not in a complete regulatory framework. No decision was taken on banning its advertisements. Steps are taken to create awareness through RBI and SEBI. The Government will soon introduce a Bill, Sitharaman said on Cryptocurrency during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha. 

Nomura has informed investors to be wary of certain unknown persons/entities using its name to solicit cryptocurrency trading services. Here’s the full statement from Nomura: 

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The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 was not introduced in the Parliament on Monday (November 29th, 2021).

The bill is also not likely to be introduced today (November 30) as it is not on the ‘Revised List of Business’ of Lok Sabha today. 

Bills to be introduced today:

The Government will today introduce two new bills in the Lok Sabha. These are: 

1. The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021. 

2. The Assisted Reproductive Technologyu (Regulation) Bill, 2021. 

Vikas Ahuja, CEO of CrossTower India, says the Government of India has considered importance around the regulatory framework for the crypto industry in light of its growing popularity. “We believe this to be a positive sign, as crypto trading needs legislation like any other business. Only the Government’s support to make it regulated will allow the exchange companies to create the right kind of awareness and educate on how to make the best use of this blockchain technology-based digital trading. With the Indian government set to introduce the draft crypto regulation bill in Parliament, we look forward to seeing a balanced approach – allowing innovation for digital trading and at a global scale, ensuring India’s youth is running a futuristic race, while balancing consumer protection needs.”

“The thing to look out for is that if the bill bans cryptocurrencies outright, or simply bans them from being used as ‘currencies’, allowing them to still function as ‘assets’. If the latter is true, then the bill will be a net positive for the crypto industry. So far, in India, they mainly function as assets and this would help remove regulatory uncertainty around crypto in India,” says Atanuu Agarrwal, co-founder of Upside AI, a SEBI Registered PMS Company. 

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 11 am tomorrow. The government plans to introduce the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. 

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Union government to apprise it on January 17, 2022 about the introduction of the bill on cryptocurrency and what further action has been taken on the issue. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said it cannot direct the parliamentary legislation to enact a law. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Aditya Kadam, seeking directions to the central government to formulate laws to govern the use and trade of cryptocurrency within the country. 

Kadam highlighted the unregulated business of cryptocurrency in the country which, he claimed, affects the rights of the investors as there is no mechanism in law to redress their grievances. Advocate D P Singh, appearing for the Centre, told the court that the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill has been introduced and would be discussed in the winter session of Parliament. 

The court said it would keep the petition for further hearing on January 17. ‘Let’s see if they (government) enact the law. With the introduction of the bill, the allegations raised in the petition that the government has not taken any steps would be incorrect,’ the bench said. 

‘We cannot direct the parliamentary legislation to enact a law,’ Chief Justice Datta said. ‘The Union government shall apprise us on the next date if the bill was introduced and what further action has been taken,’ the court said. The bill proposes to create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. It also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. (PTI)

In a written reply to a query on CBDC, the Finance Ministry says: 

“Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is introduced by a Central Bank. Government has received a proposal from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October, 2021 for amendment to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 to enhance the scope of the definition of ‘bank note’ to include currency in digital form.RBI has been examining use cases and working out a phased implementation strategy for introduction of CBDC with little or no disruption. 

“Introduction of CBDC has the potential to provide significant benefits, such as reduced dependency on cash, higher seigniorage due to lower transaction costs, reduced settlement risk. Introduction of CBDC would also possibly lead to a more robust, efficient, trusted, regulated and legal tender-based payments option. There are also associated risks which need to be carefully evaluated against the potential benefits.”

In a written reply to query on the alleged multi-crore Bitcoin scam in Karnataka, the Ministry of Finance said in the Lok Sabha:  

“Information in public domain suggests that a case of cybercrime involving Bitcoin has been under examination by the Karnataka police. ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. State/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation & prosecution of such crimes including financial frauds through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The LEAs take legal action as per provisions of law against the offenders.However, a case has also been registered by Bangalore Zonal Unit of the Directorate of Enforcement. Further disclosure of information in the matter is not in larger public interest.”

The Ministry of Finance said in a written reply to a query that the Government does not collect information on trading in cryptocurrency.

On the question of whether the Government has allowed cryptocurrency exchanges as a legally permitted entity in India, the Ministry said, “Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India. RBI has vide its circular dated May 31st, 2021, advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and obligations of regulated entities under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002 in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for overseas remittances.” 

The Government of India does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions. There is no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country, the Ministry of Finance said today in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha. 

Lok Sabha has adjourned till 2pm today. Earlier, Speaker Om Birla had requested Opposition MPs to bring the House in order to allow any discussion before the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 was passed. (ANI)

Cryptocurrencies were not seen as a financial stability risk but growing volumes have raised concerns for central banks globally. In Oct 2021, for the first time, the growth of crypto assets was brought up as one of the identified risks to global financial stability by the IMF. There are, however, few international precedents for controlling such risks. READ FULL STORY

“The much-awaited crypto regulations bill in India would likely be discussed in the Parliament today. So far, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the contents of the bill. The sentiment across companies operating in the crypto space in India seems to be a mix of both positive and negative. However, with the government’s intention to regulate the space and compartmentalise crypto on use cases, suggests that the government could be taking a progressive step,” Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm-based crypto investment platform.

Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon following sloganeering by Opposition MPs. 

Ahead of the introduction of Cryptocurrency Bill 2021 in Parliament, Bitcoin is continuing to exhibit a lower top formation on daily as well as 4 hour charts, implying the intermediate downtrend to be continuing. 

“Bitcoin BTC is continuing to exhibit a lower top formation on daily as well as 4 hour charts, implying the intermediate downtrend to be continuing. Prices are trading below 50 day average & taking support from 100 day average ($54135). An intermediate downtrend line drawn from the Nov top of $69000 summarizes the technical set up as shown in diagram. However, the momentum indicators of 50- & 100- day ROCs are still trading in their positive territories above zero line and conveys that the intermediate downtrend might have exhausted and a breakout above $59400 will confirm this trend reversal. If it so happens, $60600 will be next resistance for BTC,”  Manoj Dalmia Founder and Director-Proassetz Exchange. 

Ahead of the start of the Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “This is an important session of the Parliament. The citizens of the country want a productive session. They are fulfilling their responsibilities for a brighter future.” 

A Bill on Cryptocurrency regulation is listed to be introduced during the Winter Session of Parliament. 

A large number of crypto users on Indian exchanges resorted to panic selling amid rumours of a proposed ban on cryptocurrencies through the upcoming crypto bill in Parliament. However, experts suggest that crypto investors should not resort to panic selling as nothing is known about the content of the proposed bill yet. READ MORE

Ahead of the introduction of the Cryptocurrency Bill in Parliament, the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) of IAMAI has said that a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in the country will encourage non-state players, thereby leading to more unlawful usage of such currencies. Read More