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Govt wants to ‘ban’ crypto because…: Congress leader's sarcastic explanation

By | Written by Poulomi Ghosh
Nov 24, 2021 07:08 PM IST

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said while banning cryptocurrencies will be too much, there should be some framework so that if anyone is duped, there is a body to complain.

Amid reports that the Centre might introduce a new bill that would bar many private cryptocurrencies, which triggered heavy selling in the country's digital currency markets, Congress leader and national spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi on Wednesday said the government has decided to ban it as it could not see some of its citizens making money through crypto trading. "After competently overseeing the rise of fuel, oils, fruits, vegetables and nearly all essentials, this government could not see some of its citizens making money through crypto trading. Therefore they are deciding to ban it," the Congress leader said in a sarcastic comment.

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said banning cryptocurrencies in India will be taking it too far. (REUTERS)

The government is mulling to impose some regulation in the crypto market by allowing only certain cryptocurrencies to promote the underlying technology and its uses, a legislative agenda released on Tuesday for the winter session of Parliament revealed. The bill, if passed, would effectively ban citizens in India from transacting in most cryptocurrencies, experts said.

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The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, seeks to "create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

Linking the mulled move to restrict crypto trade with the price rise of the essential commodities, the Congress leader said, "Banning of cryptocurrency will be taking it too far but there should be a modicum of regulatory control by the RBI and SEBI as watchdog. If someone defrauds you in crypto, there should be an option to take the complaint to some regulatory body. It's the fair thing to do."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on cryptocurrencies early this month, which was the first such high-level meeting on digital currency. Last week, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha, met the representatives of crypto exchanges and arrived at a conclusion that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but they should be regulated.

The RBI has time and against expressed its reservations against cryptocurrencies saying they pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country and also doubted the number of investors trading on them as well as their claimed market value. What the RBI wants is to come out with its own official digital currency to counter the mushrooming of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

 

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