The Government issuing a notification regarding the introduction of a new cryptocurrency bill in the Winter Session of Parliament and making it clear that The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of official Digital Currency Bill,2021, may ban all Private Cryptocurrencies, investors are in a panic situation now.
The
notification said that “To create a facilitative framework for the creation of the
official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The Bill
also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it
allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of
cryptocurrency and its uses,” it said in a notification on the Lok Sabha website.
If
we notice the word “Private Crypto”, “Private crypto means owned and
operated by an individual or entity. Bitcoin is not private, it’s decentralized
and is available on a public ledger. Private currencies are anyway banned in
India, so private cryptocurrencies will also be banned in India. But crypto
will be regulated mostly as an asset or a commodity, it won’t be considered as
a currency.”
Cryptocurrency runs on blockchain technology, but what exactly is a blockchain? The term has become so commonplace, its meaning and significance are often blurred. A blockchain is simply a digital ledger of transactions. This ledger (or database) is distributed across a network of computer systems. No single system controls the ledger. Instead, a decentralized network of computers keeps a blockchain running and authenticates its transactions.
Cryptocurrency transactions are recorded in perpetuity on the underlying blockchain. Groups of transactions are added to the ‘chain’ in the form of ‘blocks,’ which validate the authenticity of the transactions and keep the network up and running. All batches of transactions are recorded on the shared ledger, which is public.
Private Vs Public Cryptocurrencies
According
to Sidharth Sogani, founder and CEO of CREBACO, cryptocurrency research, and
analysis firm, explains further, “Private crypto means owned and operated by an
individual or entity. Bitcoin is not private, it’s decentralized and is
available on a public ledger. Private currencies are anyway banned in
India, so private cryptocurrencies will
also be banned in India. But crypto will be regulated mostly as an asset or a
commodity, it won’t be considered as a currency.”
The
analysis of Sharat Chandra, a blockchain and emerging tech evangelist, is
somewhat similar. “Digital currencies like Central Bank Digital Currencies
(CBDCs) issued by the central bank and banked by the sovereign are mostly likely to
be termed as ‘public’ crypto coins,” He says.
Sharat
Chandra said that any digital currency which is not backed by the government can
be loosely termed as a private coin.
However,
according to some definitions, the bigger cryptocurrencies that operate on a
public ledger may not come under the ambit. And some cryptocurrencies like
Monero and Dash could be referred to as private cryptocurrencies as transections
on these are not traceable.
CONCLUSION
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill,
2021, which will be introduced in the next session of Parliament “seeks to
prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India" but allows for "certain
exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses”, according to the
Lok Sabha bulletin issued Tuesday evening.
This sparked fear as the description was the
same as that used earlier this year when talks of a ban first emerged. Crypto industry
executives said the panic was premature, based on discussions exchanges they
have had with the government and regulators in the past few months.
Since Tuesday, the value of these coins has
recovered to a degree on top exchanges including CoinDCX, WazirX, and crypto
exchange aggregator CoinSwitch Kuber.
“As of now, I urge all crypto asset investors in
the country to remain calm, do their own research before arriving at a rushed
conclusion,” CoinSwitch Kuber founder and CEO Ashish Singhal tweeted.
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