India to ban crypto trading

Indian lawmakers seem intent on cryptocurrency trading with a new piece of legislation.

Bloomberg reported on Sept. 15 that Indian lawmakers are expected to discuss new cryptocurrency regulation during the first parliament meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The newly planned law bans trading of cryptocurrencies in India.

The bill is expected to be discussed shortly by the union cabinet before making its way to the parliament. The Indian government will encourage blockchain developments but hinder the trading of crypto assets.

Yes to blockchain, no to Bitcoin

While clearly hostile towards cryptocurrencies, the Indian banks showed that they are quite fond of blockchain. As Modern Consensus reported at the end of January last year, a group of 11 Indian banks jointly created a blockchain-based digital ledger system aimed at improving access to credit for micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses.

In March 2019, also India’s commerce secretary also showed clear openness towards blockchain technology. The regulator launched a blockchain-based marketplace app for trading Indian coffee that aims to reduce the number of intermediaries between coffee growers and buyers, build farm-to-cup traceability, and help farmers increase their incomes by as much as 100 percent.

India hates crypto

The news should not come as a complete surprise since rumors about India’s government planning to ban cryptocurrency trading circulated since early August. Reports suggested at the time that the government had held consultations with several ministries, as well as the Reserve Bank of India, to develop a framework for a law that would formally end crypto trading nationwide.

At the time a government official said that “after inter-ministerial consultations, it would be presented to the cabinet for approval” which is the phase that the bill is currently at. 

He added, “Once parliament resumes for the session, we are hoping to get it ratified.”

The news reverses the previous ruling of the country’s Supreme Court, which overturned controversial restrictions that prohibited banks from dealing with exchanges. The measures in question resulted in many cryptocurrency firms and crypto exchanges becoming unable to operate, with some halting their activity forever.