New bill would ban owning, trading, and mining cryptocurrencies in India

[The Buzz]

India is proposing a law banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets, a senior government official told Reuters. The bill would criminalize possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring crypto-assets, said the official, who has direct knowledge of the plan, which would be one of the world’s strictest policies against cryptocurrencies.

From Reuters:

The measure is in line with a January government agenda that called for banning private virtual currencies such as bitcoin while building a framework for an official digital currency. But recent government comments had raised investors’ hopes that the authorities might go easier on the booming market.

Instead, the bill would give holders of cryptocurrencies up to six months to liquidate, after which penalties will be levied, said the official, who asked not to be named as the contents of the bill are not public.

Officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government holds a comfortable majority in parliament.

If the ban becomes law, India would be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, does not penalise possession.

Read the Reuters article here: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-i...-idINKBN2B60QP

[PROFRBcom]

Cutting 1.5 billion people off from a close to 2 trilion dollar market.

OK, good luck.

[Mario The Gambler]

India should ban corruption. It would be more useful


But probably as ineffective as banning Bitcoin.

[TheGooner]

India, China, Russia - restrictive and repressive governments are all negative on crypto ...
That should be all the news the US government needs to make their mind up.

[Sherlock]

would -> that is the important word

Bitcoin will never be banned. Banning bitcoin is a nonsense. Nobody can ban "holding a cryptocurrency". That is exactly why bitcoin made it so far. But that is not the point here.

Bitcoin in India (or elsewhere) can never be banned because we simply have to read that nonsense (that ban is inevitably coming) over and over again. Never enough FUD. That is it. Thanks Buzz.

[Cash Bonus]

What a stupid move, Bitcoin is an excellent cryptocurrency. And this coming from a country like India. They're worse than China. Seriously.

[FreeSpins]

You cannot ban it... you can only off them internet to stop it.

[LegalBetAndy]

Nobody can ban "holding a cryptocurrency".

Well they can, in the same way they ban being in possession of child pornography on your PC / Phone, whatever. If it is on there, and they find it on there, you go to prison for a long time. It does not take any more than that, they find a wallet (they do not even have to open it the law can just ban owning wallets), or a financial record they suspect was to buy crypto, all the same as would happen with child porn swings into play. Saying "they could not prove it" etc etc, well they could try, and if found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a Jury then that would be that.

I am not saying I support such an action, or that I think such an action is likely. It is possible though, it should not be simply dismissed out of hand as an imposibility.

[FreeSpins]

Well they can, in the same way they ban being in possession of child pornography on your PC / Phone, whatever. If it is on there, and they find it on there, you go to prison for a long time. It does not take any more than that, they find a wallet (they do not even have to open it the law can just ban owning wallets), or a financial record they suspect was to buy crypto, all the same as would happen with child porn swings into play. Saying "they could not prove it" etc etc, well they could try, and if found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a Jury then that would be that.

I am not saying I support such an action, or that I think such an action is likely. It is possible though, it should not be simply dismissed out of hand as an imposibility.

Theoretically yes, technically no.