Despite clamor by all and sundry across the crypto space for regulation regarding trading in the crypto space instead of banning, the government of India has failed to heed their plea. This is not the first time that such a ban is looming in the country, with a previous regulation banning the trade of the digital asset being rolled out but was overturned. In a recent publication that was made available by Reuters, the Indian government has once again sent shivers down the spine of crypto traders in the country. According to the report, the new law is about the outright ban on trading and holding the digital asset.
Indian Finance Ministry is thinking about the regulation of the crypto space
The report went on to say that the officials mentioned that they are going to foster the acceptance and adoption of blockchain technology but would ban the use of digital assets. In a case example, the report mentioned Bitcoin, Ethereum, and some core digital assets. The officials have mentioned that anybody caught as an offender would face the strict wrath of the law but did not mention the punishment.
They mentioned that the new punishment would not involve jail terms as proposed in the law that was drafted in 2019. While the future of crypto in the country looks very bleak, the finance minister at an event over the weekend said that they were still regulations on the card for now. He mentioned that the government is willing to carry out experiments on blockchain and digital assets before a ban is imposed.
“We are willing to open a window where people would be allowed to do experiments on both blockchain and digital assets,” he said. He further stressed that the cabinet was already in the talks, and sooner or later, a digital assets bill would be passed across the country.
RBI and Finance Ministry divided over the regulatory decision
The minister also stressed that even though she was not aware of the Reserve Bank of India has finalized their decision on crypto, they are still choosing to keep their options open. With the reassuring statement, it is easier to draw out how the country’s financial system works.
Even though part of the Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India completely makes decisions on issuance of money, policies regarding money, and other key decisions on its own. The finance ministry is said to be in charge of things regarding the economy, such as policies, the stock markets, and inflation.
The two entities even have years of history of disagreement as they have always held a different opinion on some trivial matters in the country regarding money and the economy. One such disagreement between the entities was why the previous governor of the RBI resigned in 2018. Crypto traders are bearing the tussle’s brunt between both entities, with the RBI previously banning crypto some years back. That decision was soon overturned by the Supreme court in May last year. The RBI has made its stand against crypto clear to crypto traders in the country.
