Draft Bill Which Seeks To Introduce 10-Year Jail Term For Cryptocurrency Users, Miners On Its Way To The Parliament
[ By Bobby Anthony ]A new new bill seeking to introduce a decade-long jail sentence for mining, holding, buying or selling any cryptocurrency is on its way to the Parliament of India for consideration.This draft bill which is called the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019, is supposed to address the use of cryptocurrency for tax evasion, illegal...
A new new bill seeking to introduce a decade-long jail sentence for mining, holding, buying or selling any cryptocurrency is on its way to the Parliament of India for consideration.
This draft bill which is called the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019, is supposed to address the use of cryptocurrency for tax evasion, illegal money transfers as well as illicit transactions.
The Indian cryptocurrency market has been unstable, after the Supreme Court of India took the side of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in prohibiting other banks from working with cryptocurrency in July 2018.
In April, the RBI had stated that it would support blockchain and smart contracts, but not allow testing of cryptocurrency-related projects.
However, the RBI has denied any involvement with the latest cryptocurrency draft bill.
Earlier, the RBI had stated that virtual currencies are “neither currency nor money; they can't even be considered as a valid payment system”.
In April, the RBI had directed all the banks to stop dealing with individuals and businesses dabbling in virtual currencies by July 5.
Even prior to this period, the RBI had issued four warnings against bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since December 2013. Along with the Finance Ministry, the RBI had made it clear that virtual currencies are not legal tender.