Legislators in India are preparing the first draft of the “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019.” As the name suggests, it’s not going to be crypto-friendly, at all. In fact, anybody in the country dealing with cryptocurrencies in any way is going to get a decade-long sentence. The prospective law applies to every individual who would “mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose of, issue, or deal in cryptocurrencies directly or indirectly.”
There was a bit of hope that cryptocurrencies will be eventually regularized in India. If this law comes through we can all forget about it.
The new legislation is undoubtedly going to make things tight for those who are trying to do transactions involving cryptocurrencies. It also comes along because several cryptocurrency trading and exchange platforms and services in the country have run into trouble. Cryptonauts in India were expecting (should we say hoping?) for a more favorable position regarding crypto, but it’s not very likely to happen right now.
The authors
Subhash Chandra Garg is the Economic Affairs Secretary, and he leads the group of “experts” (some would call them haters instead) that are writing this bill. Rumor has it that several members of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are involved in the team working for the panel. And then there are also elements from the Central Board of Direct Taxes, an investigative agency, among others.
The offenses quoted in the new bill will be considered “cognizable and non-bailable” according to rumors.
“If any conduct is punishable under any other law, this Act will be in addition to, and not in derogation of such law,” said an unidentified source.
There is a friendlier side to the bill. While it introduces some severe action against cryptocurrency traders (even owners), it also calls for India to create an official digital currency. Such coin would be presented by the Central Bank, if and when it agrees.
So India is not a safe place for cryptonauts anymore. The country’s stance is quite unusual for the geopolitical region. Asia is the most active zone in the world when it comes to cryptocurrencies, and most governments have adopted a very friendly stance on cryptocurrencies. Even China’s government, which is quite hostile to blockchain projects created in other countries, allows for most of all Bitcoin mining to happen within the country.
Should you be worried? Well, do you live in India? If you do, then you should. We’re all for cryptocurrencies, but we don’t think that involvement in the cryptosphere should not cost you doing a full decade. Investing in crypto is already risky enough. Cryptocurrencies are all about freedom and restraining the world’s governments and financial systems, not about empowering by giving them the chance to throw you in jail.
In cryptocurrencies as in everything else, there’s nothing more important than keeping safe. So we’re not going to give you any kind of advice. But we’d suggest that if you want to remain involved in crypto, then (if the bill happens) you will just not be able to do it from India anymore. That being said, the point in cryptocurrencies is to make the world your shell.
Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.
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