Cryptocurrency Bill

Bill on Crypto unlikely during Budget Session of Parliament

 

Amit Srivastava

After the government failed to bring a bill to regulate cryptocurrency in the winter session of parliament, as per the media report, the bill is unlikely to be tabled during the Union Budget 2022-23 session. As per the sources, the government has decided to seek international support in formulating a common strategy on cryptocurrency.

While the central bank was advocating a complete ban on digital currency, the government is delaying in taking a stand, due to differences in opinions of stakeholders.

Early this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a global consensus on crypto regulations. He mentioned this during his speech at the World Economic Forum summit, held virtually on January 17. Modi said that there is a need for a uniform approach to crypto across the globe. He said that steps taken by a single country will not address the issue.

According to the media report, the government is working on levying taxes on gains from the cryptocurrency trade. As per the industry expert, the size of crypto is growing rapidly in the country and there are about Rs45,000 crore crypto asses with over 15 million investors.

The government is likely to take more time in formulating regulations in consultation with Bank of International Settlements (BIS). In the last couple of months, PM Modi had spoken at international platforms several times on digital currency, but not even once with Indian investors.