India’s proposed cryptocurrency regulation might result in jail time for violations -document

According to a source and a description of the bill reviewed by Reuters, proposed legislation in India that would prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies as a form of payment would also expose people who violated the law to arrest without a warrant and detention without bail.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already stated that it intends to prohibit the majority of cryptocurrencies, a move that follows China’s September steps that tightened its grip on cryptocurrencies.

According to the bill’s description, the Indian government intends to impose a “general prohibition on any activities by any individual on mining, generating, holding, selling, (or) dealing” in digital currencies as a “medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account.”

Any violation of these guidelines would also be “cognizable,” which means an arrest without a warrant is feasible, and “non bailable,” according to the statement.

The individual, who has firsthand knowledge of the situation, declined to be identified since he was not authorized to speak to the media. An email requesting response from the finance ministry was not returned.

Although the government has previously said that it wishes to support blockchain technology, attorneys believe that the new regulation would have a negative impact on its use as well as the non-fungible token market in India. According to Anirudh Rastogi, founder of law firm Ikigai Law:

“If no payments are allowed at all and an exception is not made for transaction fee then it will also effectively stop blockchain development and NFT,”

According to the draft summary of the law and the source, the government now intends to crack down hard on marketing aimed at luring new investors.

Self-custodial wallets, which allow consumers to keep digital currencies outside of exchanges, are also likely to be prohibited, according to the source.

The harsh new laws are the result of the central bank’s serious worries about digital currencies, and they aim to put protections in place to protect the traditional financial industry from cryptocurrencies, according to the bill’s draft summary.

According to the draft summary, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would be the regulator for crypto assets.

Patrick

Coincu News