Along with the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 for the India's mission to the Moon today, Cryptocurrencies on the contrary are doomed! In a significant development today, the Department of Economic Affairs has issued a
Press Release on Report of the Committee on Virtual Currencies
This Press Release acknowledges the submission of the Report by the IMC (Inter Ministerial Committee) and further states that
This Report and Draft Bill will now be examined in consultation with all the concerned Departments and Regulatory Authorities, before the Government takes a final decision.
The signed and approved copy of the 107 pages Report and Draft Bill has also been made public and is accessible at the below link:
Report of the Committee to propose specific actions to be taken in relation to Virtual Currencies Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance New Delhi, India
(For directly jumping to text of the draft Bill, head on straight to Page No. 59).
This has led all the speculations regarding the authenticity of the report to rest.
The report cites the example of China and how all ICO and RMB to Crypto exchanges were banned there in 2017. This reduced the 90% of the RMB to Bitcoin trades to as low as 1% now. But the report candidly says that despite the ban there, trading still exists. On March 31, 2018 when unauthorized VPNs were also banned, VPN providers and users still claim access to the services.
Report also takes note of active research in de-anonymisation of completely anonymous cryptocurrencies like Zerocoin.
In light of the evolving nature of this technology, the report also proposed that the Government may establish a Standing Committee to revisit the issues addressed in the Report as and when required.
Given the nascent yet evolving nature of the technology, the Committee recognises that it would be advisable to keep a close watch on developments both globally and within the country.
I see this as a good sign of flexibility and a continuous scope for modification.
The official release of this report and the bill a day prior to the hearing of Crypto vs. RBI case in Supreme Court is vital. The case in Supreme Court is expected to be heard tomorrow. It is listed before the Court no. 5 as item number 19.
So for now, all eyes are on SC hearing.
By the way, although this is a draft bill, legal experts who are advocating for positive regulation in India now have complete text to study. This will help them to frame their case against Government better in case this draft is accepted and passed in the Parliament.
All the best, India!