In a recent meeting on the regulations of digital currency in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that all nations should work together to stop cryptocurrency misuse and ensure it “does not end up in the wrong hands”.
The caution of PM Modi comes a few days after he conducted the discussion on how to proceed on digital currency in India, with issues raised on unregulated crypto markets that are becoming a channel for terror financing and money laundering.
Asserting that data and technology are turning to be new weapons and that all the democracies must cooperate in cryptocurrency regulations for the purpose of data governance. The Prime Minister said,
“Take cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, for example. It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in the wrong hands, which can spoil our youth.”
The Prime Minister was talking at the Sydney Dialogue, which is a forum on evolving, critical and cyber technologies. The government is thinking of a regulatory structure to handle and oversee investments that are done in digital currency to prevent any sort of cryptocurrency misuse.
You may wonder, is cryptocurrency legal in India 2021. A report from a popular media house on Wednesday said the Indian government could stop the use of digital currency for the purpose of transactions or making any kind of payments but could enable them to be held as assets such as shares, gold, or bonds.
The meeting of the Prime Minister on Saturday on crypto was a result of an advisory process that had the Finance Ministry and Home Ministry, and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with other industry experts. Efforts to mislead the youth of this nation via non-transparent and over-promising advertising must be prevented on an immediate basis, it was reportedly talked about in the meeting. He said this in the light of the fact that there has been criminal use of cryptocurrency across the globe, and the government does not want an increase in the cryptocurrency frauds in India. So keeping in mind various cryptocurrency misuse, the government is trying hard to regulate digital assets in India. But the rise in Bitcoin price and other cryptos can be a reason to attract so many youths in this country. There has been a significant increase in the use of digital currency in this country in the last 1 year.
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has also issued caution that India requires much deeper discussions on digital currencies. In a recent event, he said,
“When the central bank says that we have serious concerns from the point of view of macroeconomic and financial stability, there are far deeper issues involved. I’m yet to see serious, well-informed discussions in the public space on these issues.”
While addressing the masses, the Prime Minister of India said that the digital age is altering everything that is around us and it has redefined the economy, politics, and society. He said,
“It is raising new questions on sovereignty, governance, ethics, law, rights, and security. It is reshaping international competition, power, and leadership.”
He further stated that,
“But we also face new risks and new forms of conflict across diverse threats, from sea-bed to cyber to space. Technology has already become a major instrument of global competition and key to shaping the future international order.”
The Bottom Line
Cryptocurrency in India is a hot topic now. The government and the central bank are trying their best to regulate digital currency the best they can and so there has been a new bill on digital currency that will be presented in the winter session of the parliament. The government fears the cryptocurrency misuse that can hamper the future of many youths. So what do you think, should cryptocurrency be banned in India or should it be legalized and open for use? D let us know your view in the comment.
Frequently Asked Questions On Cryptocurrency Misuse
1. Is cryptocurrency used for illegal activity?
In a 2019 report, researchers Jonathan Karlsen, Sean Foley, and Tālis Putniņš predicted that 46% of BTC transactions that happened between January 2009 and April 2017 were for the purpose of illegal activity.
2. What are the negative effects of cryptocurrency?
There are many drawbacks of digital currencies but among them, one biggest drawback is since it is decentralized, any cryptocurrency misuse cannot be kept track of.
3. Why do criminals want Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is operated on a blockchain network that is completely decentralized so no one can keep a track of the transactions made. It is safe for criminals as it leaves no trace of their malicious activities.
