India / Previous cryptocurrency bill reworked, new bill to be introduced soon: FM

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the Centre will introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies in the Parliament after Cabinet's approval. The current bill is a new bill on crypto, which will be presented in the Parliament after the Cabinet nod, Sitharaman said.

Answering a question relating to cryptocurrencies in Rajya Sabha, FM Sitharaman said, "This is a risky area and not in a complete regulatory framework. No decision was taken on banning its advisements. Steps are taken to create awareness through RBI and SEBI. The government will soon introduce a Bill."

The Finance Minister also said that there is no decision to stop advertisements of digital currencies. She added that there were extensive discussions on the regulatory capacity of cryptocurrencies and "let's wait for the Bill".

"There were other dimensions and the old Bill had to be reworked and now we are trying to work on a new Bill," the FM said.

Earlier on Monday, FM Sitharaman said the government has no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country.

She also informed the House that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.

Replying to a question on whether the Centre has any proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country, the FM said, "No, sir".

Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties.

It was introduced in 2008 by an unidentified group of programmers as a cryptocurrency as well as an electronic payment system.

It is reportedly the first decentralised digital currency where peer-to-peer transactions take place without any intermediary.

The Centre plans to introduce the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in the winter session of Parliament which began on Monday.

The Bill seeks to ban all private cryptocurrencies but allows for some exceptions to promote the underlying technologies, while allowing an official digital currency by RBI.