India set to Ban Crypto Mining, Trading and Ownership of cryptocurrencies : A big deal?

India set to Ban Crypto Mining, Trading and Ownership of cryptocurrencies GoldenNewsNg reports.

In what can be said to be one of the toughest policies yet against Cryptocurrency, India is set to propose a law banning the digital asset class. The law is alleged to fine anyone who trades or even hold, own digital assets. This was revealed by a senior government official. The development is obviously a potential blow to millions of investors who are coming into the crypto space to get a share of the ever booming Cryptocurrency Economy.

According to the government official who has good knowledge of the proposed law, it would be a criminal offence to own, issue, mine, trade and transfer crypto-assets.

In January there was a government agenda that called for the bang of virtual currencies, however recent comments from the government suggested and raised hope of investors that the authorities might be going easy on the market.

The bill is said to allow holders of cryptocurrency up to six months to liquidate, after which penalties and levies would follow.

Officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government holds a comfortable majority in parliament.

If the ban becomes law, India would be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, does not penalize possession.

A government panel in 2019 recommended jail of up to 10 years on people who mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose of, issue or deal in cryptocurrencies.

The official declined to say whether the new bill includes jail terms as well as fines, or offer further details but said the discussions were in their final stages.

In March 2020, India’s Supreme Court struck down a 2018 order by the central bank forbidding banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies, prompting investors to pile into the market. The court ordered the government to take a position and draft a law on the matter.

The Reserve Bank of India voiced its concern again last month, citing what it said were risks to financial stability from cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the central bank has been working on launching its own digital currency, a step the government’s bill will also encourage, said the official.

Despite the market euphoria, investors are aware that the boom could be in danger.

“If the ban is official we have to comply,” Naimish Sanghvi, who started betting on digital currencies in the last year, told Reuters, referring to existing concerns about a potential ban. “Until then, I’d rather stack up and run with the market than panic and sell.”
If the ban becomes law, India would be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, does not penalize possession.

This is yet another national  crackdown on cryptocurrency as sometimes in February the Nigeria government through its Central Bank passed a policy that prohibited Banks, money houses and other financial institutions from processing and honoring crypto related transactions. Nigeria is the Worlds Second largest Crypto hub. The Digital asset class has been a thing for the youths in the country. Given the hard economic situation in the West African nation, most youths flocked to trading and dealing in cryptocurrencies to help themselves and this has been an income base for the country.

The most popular of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin soared to its all time high of $61,700 on the 13th of March and most Crypto analyst says with the mainstream financial world flocking to grab the scarce digital asset its set to hit high figures in around $100,000 and beyond going forward.