Indian government may ban cryptocurrencies like bitcoin

The Indian government plans to introduce a bill to the country’s lower house that would ban private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and create a national cryptocurrency.

The so-called “Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Bill Regulation” moves “to create a framework facilitating the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.”

Further, “the bill also aims to ban all private cryptocurrencies in India, but it allows certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of the cryptocurrency and its uses.”

Bitcoin’s value jumped more than 20% to $ 38,566 on Friday after Elon Musk changed his personal Twitter bio to #bitcoin.

This is not the first time that Indian lawmakers have taken such a strong stance on cryptocurrencies. In 2018, an Indian government panel recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies and proposed up to 10 years in prison for violators.

In the same year, then Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “The government does not recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender or currency and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these crypto-assets. in the financing of illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system. “

Many countries – including the United States, China, Japan, Canada, Venezuela, Estonia, Sweden, and Uruguay – have explored the development of their own digital currencies.

However, there are significant differences between national digital currencies and private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are decentralized, while national digital currencies are generally centralized.