This development in India is not like China banning Facebook, and Twitter, and YouTube, and Google so as to make room for native versions. This development is more like the US government itself banning the Bitcoin if it could. The Bitcoin is utterly not respectful of the dollar or any other currency, and their political statures.
But the Blockchain community has been equally irresponsible in that it has not been proactive about the unavoidable governance issues.
Govt committee recommends ban on cryptocurrency in India The report lays down that all private cryptocurrencies except the ones issue by the state be banned in India and endorses the stand taken by the RBI to eliminate the interface of institutions regulated by the central bank from cryptocurrencies....... The report states that there are around 2,116 cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin like Rippld, Ethereum and Cardano with a market capitalisation of $119.46 billion.
The Aftermath Of India’s Cryptocurrency Ban: Startups, Investors Poke Holes In Govt’s Plan India’s official report on cryptocurrencies has shaken crypto startups and investors ..... the committee is agnostic about exploring the idea of RBI-backed digital currencies and has welcomed the ongoing innovations happening around the underlying technology, known as blockchain. ....... crypto startups and enthusiasts feel it’s a direct violation of Article 19(1)(g) which gives them the fundamental right of freedom to business in any sector or trade. Many of the startup founders and stakeholders were naturally miffed with the decision, and some questioned the logic of the move...... “Report says the government will take all measures to usher in digital economy using Blockchain. By banning Crypto there can never be a public blockchain so the report contradicts itself.”...... by being very risk-averse we will significantly hinder the progress of the industry and would only end up as being spectators of how other developed countries adopted and moving forward with it....... The report cites high volatility, malware used for illegal mining, high use of electricity for Bitcoin’s mining, cryptocurrency’s ability to affect the efficacy of RBI’s monetising capability as among the other primary reasons to recommend a complete ban on cryptocurrencies........ “It’s clear from the report that the government wants to boost distributed ledger technology but they need to understand that you can’t boost DLT like blockchain while completely banning crypto assets.” ...... Many cryptocurrencies, these days, are backed by petroleum, gold, as well as the US dollar in the case of Facebook’s Libra. The IMC does not make any differentiation among cryptocurrencies that are not backed by any central banks. ....... Unocoin’s Vishwanath said the question is to what extent the ban is enforceable as everything happens digitally on the internet. If it cannot be enforced, then there is no point of discussing conviction which means the ban was useless anyway. ...... in February 2018 there were around 50 lakh traders in India in 24 exchanges and cryptocurrency trading volumes are in the range of 1500 Bitcoins a day, or around INR 1 Bn, compared to the global 24-hour trading volume which is in excess of $21 Bn. So there are plenty of stakeholders in the crypto ecosystem........ “Any person shall, on or after the date of commencement of this Act but on or before the expiry of ninety days from the date of commencement, make a declaration in respect of cryptocurrency in such person’s possession and shall dispose of the same within the aforesaid period.” ....... Vishwanath chimed in “It would just be bad news. To literally not hold any crypto assets technically, the users would need to withdraw the crypto assets from exchanges if any into their own wallets and delete their private keys. But this will be the same as throwing money into the fire. ...... if the draft bill gets enacted, in a short time thousands of people will lose their jobs as well as crores of their hard-earned money. India, in the long term, will see an increased brain drain, especially in regard to blockchain or decentralised apps. India will not have blockchain and crypto expertise leading to little-to-no crypto-related work reaching India. And, thus, India will lose billions in investment that the crypto sector can potentially attract and the thousands of jobs that it might create in future....... “There are legitimate concerns regarding crypto-assets, but the report’s recommendation of an outright ban appears excessive. Crypto-assets have benefits as well, which have been recognized globally, including by leading universities like Harvard, global corporations like JP Morgan, and international bodies like the IMF, as well as by previous Indian government reports. Therefore, as we have always recommended, crypto-assets should be regulated to promote the benefits and mitigate the risks.” ...... traditionally courts have taken a stern view on outright bans and have generally advised for measures with a lesser impact, before endorsing complete prohibition. So hope exists for the crypto community in India, but it’s fleeting and time may be running out on cryptocurrency in India.
Government panel recommends ban on cryptocurrency in India
