Crypto bill is no longer on the cards for the Indian parliament’s winter session
According to local news sources, the Indian government might still be in a stage of consideration regarding the crypto bill as lawmakers are unlikely to vote on any upcoming crypto legislation in the current parliamentary session.
According to a local publication, Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament, would most likely not be looking at a crypto bill that proposes the prohibition of “all private cryptocurrencies” before its Winter Session is due to end on December 23rd, Thursday.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill have not appeared as one of the seven bills on the government’s agenda over the last days of its 2021 session.
A November 23 news bulletin for the Lok Sabha had stated that Indian lawmakers could be possibly voting on legislation that creates “a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency”, which would be issued by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
In addition, the bill proposing banning certain cryptocurrencies would also be looked into. The same bill has previously appeared on the parliament’s agenda, but it did not lead to any voting session to address the regulatory framework or legal status of digital assets in the country’s crypto space.
In March 2020, the Indian Supreme Court had overturned a blanket ban on crypto that was imposed by the Reserve Bank of India, going into effect two years before. Since that time, reports from several local media outlets as well as statements from government officials indicate that the government is considering different solutions for regulating or possibly banning digital assets.
Even if the Indian parliament fails in tackling the crypto legislation, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, might be able to issue an ordinance for fast-tracking the bill when the Lok Sabha is not in session, which is any time between December and January.
The country’s Finance Ministry officials are also reportedly considering a legal framework that could treat cryptocurrencies as closer to commodities than currencies.
Having a population of roughly 1.4 billion, India is choosing to establish a concrete legal framework for a central bank digital currency and simultaneously ban many token projects that are set to make significant ripples throughout the crypto marketplace in the country.
Following the bill’s introduction into the parliamentary agenda in November 2021, crypto exchange WazirX had witnessed mass selloffs resulting in significant price drops for Bitcoin, Ether, and other tokens.
