Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.30: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman indicated in the Rajya Sabha today that the government will propose a new cryptocurrency bill in Parliament after gaining cabinet clearance. She informed that the Centre is also discussing regulation of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
This comes as the government prepares to present the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in Parliament’s current Winter Session. The bill aims to restrict all but a few private cryptocurrencies in order to encourage underlying technology while allowing the Reserve Bank of India to issue an official digital currency (RBI).
She also stated that the risk of cryptocurrency leading to illegal activity is being continuously monitored. Sitharaman stated that the government has not made a decision on prohibiting bitcoin exchanges from advertising.
“This is a risky area and not in a complete regulatory framework. No decision was taken on banning its advertisements. Steps are taken to create awareness through RBI and SEBI. The government will soon introduce a Bill,” Sitharaman said on Cryptocurrency during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
When asked by MP Sushil Kumar about the steps taken to curb advertisements, Sitharaman said that “no steps taken yet to curb advertisements about cryptocurrency, but investors have been cautioned.”
On taxes collected on crypto trades, Sitharaman asserted, “Don’t have ready information about the amount of tax collected on cryptocurrencies.”
“Keeping the propriety of the House, any answer now will preempt the discussion which will come with Bill. That discussion would be held,” she added.
Sitharaman had previously stated on November 29 that there is no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency. In his written response, the Finance Minister also stated that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.
