India Banning Cryptocurrency
The Indian Government is publicly known for not supporting innovation, and authorities are once again revealing their true colours. The Government has begun drafting legislation that would criminalize cryptocurrency investments on a domestic scale. It’s known that lawmakers haven’t reviewed the Indian Government’s bill, and the courts must legally sign off on their decision before the ban can be enacted. Regardless, this is the first sign of a democratic nation India Banning Cryptocurrency.
This new legislation is proposing that a ten-year prison sentence will be presented to anybody that sells, invests or trades with cryptocurrency. This extends to generating, holding, issuing or disposing of cryptocurrency as well. These laws will be punishable under the “Cryptocurrency Regulation of Official Digital Currency 2019 Bill”. It’s shocking to see such severities enlisted against individuals in the industry, but the Indian Courts can revise what punishments are administered in the legislation. The majority of local firms in India have begun taking measures to defend themselves from the upcoming onslaught, hiring teams of lawyers and moving the business to foreign nations close to India.
The Public Backlash
BitBNS Employee, Rahul Jain, spoke about the complications in the market. He stated: “As a startup from India, we always wanted to serve from India. However, this new complication has made it difficult for domestic crypto exchanges to operate their businesses in India. We are now an Estonia-based company, and any Indian law to criminalize crypto will not impact us.”
There have been other executives from the Indian Crypto Market that have publicly spoken about the Government’s decision. The Chief Executive Officer for WazirX argued that by creating this legislation, lawmakers are destroying the wealth of five million Indians. There could be a substantial increase in illegal activities due to these 5 Million individuals being forced with a lousy hand. Nischal also tweeted out that he believes this will destabilize businesses across India and take away another industry where the country was acting as a pioneer.
One of Nischal Shetty’s official statements reads: “As a country largely reliant on the services sector, India will lose its edge as a technological power if the ban on crypto is enforced. Shunning this industry will mean massive job losses and a brain drain. Crypto is predicted to be a $10 trillion industry in the next five years, and if we are to achieve our Prime Minister’s goal being a $5 trillion economy, then crypto is integral to that vision.”
Tom Arran
