India is reportedly planning on introducing a new law to ban cryptocurrency trading in the country, a move that would be a blow to the rapidly growing cryptocurrency scene in the country.
According to Bloomberg, the new law is expected to be discussed shortly by the federal cabinet, before being sent to the country’s parliament. Bloomberg’s report cites people familiar with the bill’s development.
While India is planning to ban cryptocurrency trading, the federal government is set to encourage the use of blockchain technology to manage land records, educational certificates, and more. The country’s central bank, The Reserve Bank of India, had banned crypto transactions in 2018 after a string of frauds in the months that followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to ban 80% of the country’s currency.
Cryptocurrency exchanges in the country responded with a lawsuit in the Supreme Court in September of that year, and earlier this year saw the institution side with them and overturn the move.
The win according to TechSci Research, led to an almost 450% surge in trading in just two months, as Indians started betting on crypto again. Mumbai-based exchange WazirX, for example, saw its volume grow 400% in March and 270% in April on a month-on-month basis. The rise of trading volumes, per Bloomberg, raised concerns Indians were risking their savings amid the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown.
A renewed trading ban, the news outlet writes, could affect over 1.7 million Indians trading crypto, and a rising number of firms setting up platforms in the country. As CryptoGlobe reported the founder of a Major Indian think tank, Deepak Kapoor, has recently argued bitcoin and cryptoassets should be traded like a stock in the country.
Featured image via Unsplash.
