Fate of Indian Crypto Bill uncertain: Left out of Monsoon Session of Parliament

It looks like that cabinet note for the Indian cryptocurrency bill will not be tabled in the Monsoon session of the Parliament after it missed the dice to 17 other new bills. This is not the first time that the bill’s movement has been delayed. Earlier in the Budget session of the year, the crypto bill had gathered the Indian media’s attention but didn’t find a place in discussions in the Lok Sabha that was curtailed due to the second wave of Covid.

State of Bitcoin in India

In 2018, RBI issued circular banning Indian banks from offering their service to crypto platforms as a result of which, trading volumes fell by 99% and about 95% of crypto jobs vanished.

Several Indian exchanges reacted to the backlash by filing a writ petition in the SC which led to a long battle with the SC lifting the RBI ban on cryptocurrencies in 2020.

Following this, in January 2021, the GOI announced that it will introduce a bill to create an Indian digital currency and subsequently ban all private cryptocurrencies in the market.

“The bill seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, would allow certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses,” said the government.

Current Scenario

However, this month in an interview with a leading daily, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister hinted that the new crypto bill would consider all aspects of the crypto ecosystem.

She said, “We have done a lot of work on it. We have taken stakeholders’ inputs. The Cabinet note is ready. We have to see when the Cabinet can take it up and consider it so that then we can move it.

Now that another delay in the passage of the bill has taken place, the fate of the cryptocurrency in India stays undecided.

India Among the Fastest Growing Crypto Market

The Indian crypto market has grown from $200 million to $4 billion within a year. One of the fastest-growing crypto investment markets in the world, the country has become a top choice for leading crypto businesses to set base in the country.

Only recently, Coinbase, one of the top-tier crypto exchanges in the world announced its expansion into India by hiring local talent that will currently work in a remote model system.