The size of crypto assets in India is about Rs 45,000 crore.
The Cryptocurrency Bill will not be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modis cabinet today and may not be brought into Parliament in this session, sources have told TheIndianSubcontinent, signalling that the government doesn't want to rush on the law.
More changes are likely in the Crypto Bill, sources say, and the Centre might consider bringing an ordinance or special order after the session.The Centre reportedly wants India's crypto regulations to be in tandem with the global framework.TheIndianSubcontinent had reported earlier that the Crypto Asset Bill seeks to allow cryptocurrency as an asset and ban its use as currency or payment.The Bill also proposes to establish a framework for distributed ledger technology (to record, share and synchronize transactions) and also lay the groundwork for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, which is to be regulated under the RBI Act.The Bill seeks to minimise financial stability risk by suitably ring-fencing the formal financial sector from crypto assets.The Bill also proposed a penalty for violations by individuals as well as corporate bodies.
Offences under the law will be non-bailable.Offences could be punished with a jail term of one and a half years and a fine of up to Rs 50 crore.The regulator for crypto will be the Reserve Bank and crypto assets will be regulated by market regulator SEBI.The Bill also proposes to ban all private cryptocurrencies in India and facilitate regulation.The size of crypto assets in India is about Rs 45,000 crore with about 15 million investors.