Breaking: Indian Finance Minister Confirms the New Crypto Bill to be Different from February’s Draft

The latest update in the Indian Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 saw the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman ascertain that, the crypto bill which is to be introduced in the Parliament this winter, will most definitely differ from the one drafted in February 2021. As of now, the government is waiting on approval from the Cabinet to finally present the bill in the Parliament house. However, this exclusive update, has provided the Indian community with much clarity, given the former concern, around the similar wordings of both the bills.

The Finance Minister noted that while the market is raging with speculations, that much like the last time, the government is yet again hyping up a bill which they eventually may not come up with. However, Sitharaman cleared the air, claiming that the new bill has also onboarded the previous bill’s research and is updated to meet the requirements of the present state, turning it into a bill which will be far more recent and improved.

Sitharaman spoke in the Lok Sabha today noting that the government is ready to introduce the new crypto bill. She said, “Last time there was a bill proposed but subsequently there were other dimensions which in the real time we thought it was important to bring into the bill. That bill had been reworked and in a way the bill which is coming now is a new but never mind the work done on that have all been taken onboard…Earlier attempt was definitely to come up with a bill, but later because rapidly a lot of things had to come into play, we had started working on a new bill and this is the bill which is now being proposed. once the cabinet clears it, it will come into the house.”

Ban on Indian Crypto Ads

The Finance Minister addressed issues like dubious activities using crypto, affirming that the authorities are keeping a close eye. Following this, she also highlighted the issue of banning the “misleading” crypto ads by cryptocurrency exchanges, mentioning that the government has not decided on a pro or anti-ban stance, as of now. Although, she emphasized that the current guidelines and regulations provided by the Advertisements Standards Council of India (ASCI), which governs all advertisements, are currently being studied and only after thorough research the government can lay out a strategy.