There have been several debates regarding Cryptocurrency, and whether to ban or regulate it in India. On November 29, Nirmala Sitharaman commented on crypto, “This may be a high-risk area to go in” in response to Parliament member, Neeraj Shekhar Singh’s concern about those Indians who have already invested in Crypto.
Cryptocurrency, as Wikipedia defines, “A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a collection of binary data which is designed to work as a medium of exchange.” In simple words, Crypto is a digital currency, but it is not backed by any government. Still, people from all around the world are investing in cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Binance Coin, and many others.
On November 29, The Winter Session of Parliament began, where the question was raised, whether the government will allow Bitcoin as a digital currency? To this, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman replied, that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions and has no proposal to recognize Bitcoin as a currency.
There were also other questions about the safety of Indian investors in Cryptocurrency raised by the opposition party to which she replied, that the government is taking steps to spread awareness with the help of SEBI and RBI. She commented, “Through the SEBI, through the RBI and through, once I think Government of India, there have been statements issued, and fairly awareness building has been made to say, that this is a risky area and people who are going in there be conscious as to what you are doing and also said that this is an area yet not in the complete regulatory framework.”
‘The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021’ will soon be introduced in the parliament.
