In Brief:
- The Indian Finance Minister stated in Lok Sabha that the government has no plans to recognize Bitcoin as a currency.
- She also said that the government doesn’t gather data on Bitcoin transactions.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in response to a question in the Lok Sabha that the government has no plans to recognize Bitcoin as a currency in India.
The finance minister also notified the House that the government does not gather data on Bitcoin transactions.
“No, sir,” the Finance Minister said when asked if the government had considered recognizing Bitcoin as a currency in the country.
This comes as the government prepares to present the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in Parliament’s Winter Session. The bill aims to outlaw all but a few private cryptocurrencies in order to foster underlying technology while allowing the RBI to create an official digital currency.
MP Thirumaavalavan Thol questioned the Ministry of Finance if the government is aware of the cryptocurrencies that are traded in India and if cryptocurrency trading is legal in India.
He also inquired as to whether the Indian government had recognized bitcoin exchanges as a legal business.
“Government does not collect information on trading in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India,” responded Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Finance.
The implementation of a CBDC, according to Chaudhary, has the potential to deliver major benefits, such as reduced reliance on cash, higher seigniorage due to lower transaction costs, and lower settlement risk.
Pankaj Chaudary stated, “Introduction of CBDC would also possibly lead to a more robust, efficient, trusted, regulated and legal tender-based payments option. There are also associated risks which need to be carefully evaluated against the potential benefits.”
