Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that there was no decision taken on banning cryptocurrency advertisements. She added that the crypto market is a risky area and of not in a complete regulatory framework. The Finance Minister said the Government is working on a new bill.
According to her, apex banker RBI and markets regulator SEBI were simultaneously working on creating awareness about the risks associated with crypto-trading. She added that existing guidelines are being studied on how to handle crypto-related advertising.
She was replying to questions pertaining to the current state and the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the country during the question hour on the second day of the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament.
On Monday, the Finance Minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Government had no plans to accredit Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country.
Further, the minister of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, on being asked about the status of cryptocurrency trading in the country, elaborated that the government does not collect any information on the trading of the unregulated asset.
He was asked if the government was aware of the enormous environmental impact associated with mining cryptocurrency, he replied in the negative. The Member of Parliament from Maharajganj (U.P.) was answering queries raised in the lower house on the existing state of cryptocurrency in the country on the first day of the Winter Session.
The Maharajganj MP informed the lower house of the parliament that the government would decide the road ahead with regards to cryptocurrency based on the recommendation of a high-level inter-ministerial committee and the legislative proposal if introduced in the parliament. He told the Lok Sabha that the committee had proposed specific actions including the proposal to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies, except those issued by the state.
