Bill to regulate crypto assets may include proposal for the central bank digital currency 

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The Bill to regulate the cryptocurrency, which will be introduced in the ongoing session of Parliament, may include the idea of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) backed digital currency, according to a newspaper report.

The RBI has vehemently argued for a ban on cryptocurrencies stating that they can destabilize the macro economy. The Economic Times quoted an unnamed official as saying that the virtual currency and the RBI was right in its concerns. The Bill is a response to the RBI’s concerns, the official said, adding, however, that the idea is not an outright ban on cryptocurrencies but to provide  CBDC or central bank cryptocurrency.

The Bill

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 has stirred a hornet’s nest as a Lok Sabha briefing on the Bill said that it “seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India” while permitting “certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses”. Cryptocurrencies have been witnessing great volatility due the lack of regulatory clarity.

According to The Economic Times report, India will adopt a gradual approach to digital currency. The government approach may be careful, measured and evolving, the official is quoted as saying . A CBDC will be launched and in future there may be RBI authorised and regulated private stable coins, he added. said the person.

PM on cryptocurrencies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier held a review meeting on cryptocurrencies with officials from two regulators, RBI and SEBI, and finance ministry.

Addressing a virtual conference in Sydney, the Prime Minister had urged democratic nations to work as a team and ensure that cryptocurrency did not go into the wrong hands, cautioning that it can spoil the youth. He had said the digital age is changing everything as it has redefined politics, economies and societies. It has also raised new questions on sovereignty, governance, ethics, rights and security.

The Parliamentary standing committee on finance had met with crypto industry representatives, stakeholders and experts. Committee chairman Jayant Sinha is quoted as saying that the panel had not taken a view on cryptocurrencies.