Government Plans Bill To Ban Cryptocurrency Trading, To Focus On Encouraging Blockchain Technology Instead

The government is said to be planning a bill that would effectively ban the trade in cryptocurrencies, reports Economic Times.

The bill is likely to be taken up for discussion by the Cabinet soon before it is sent to the Parliament for approval.

The development comes as the government is working on encouraging blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies. However, it is not keen on cryptocurrencies trading.

NITI Aayog is said to be exploring possible use cases of blockchain - like maintaining land records, pharmaceutical drug supply chain and record of educational certificates et cetera.

Meanwhile, the government is also said to be planning a virtual currency but is averse to the idea of the cryptocurrency trades.

It should be noted that back in 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had banned cryptocurrency trading after several frauds had come to light. However, the Supreme Court had overturned the decision in March 2020, in response to a suit filed by cryptocurrency exchanges. Following this, cryptocurrency trading exchanges recorded a massive surge in the trading.