India Mulls Crypto as Assets, Leaving Payments off the Table

India has been riding the cryptocurrency conundrum wave for years, first banning all crypto in 2018 and then overturning that decision in 2020 — only to revisit the issue and institute further bans, then reconsider it once again as crypto continued to grab the limelight globally.

India’s 2021 Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, which builds on a previous version aimed at prohibiting all cryptocurrencies in India, came out in favor of providing a framework for the creation of a central bank-issued digital currency.

It was the latest decision is a mixed bag of compromise, according to multiple reports.

See also: Reserve Bank of India Says It’s Exploring Possibility of Digital Rupee

Instead of a total ban on cryptocurrency altogether, India now seems poised to take a multifaceted approach and view crypto as an asset like shares, bonds or gold, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday (Nov. 17).

A note prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for Indian parliamentarians maintained that a “balanced and thoughtful regulatory approach to crypto/digital tokens needs to be evolved in India.”

The industry body also argued that “regulatory toolbox should accept, not reject and outlaw, the new world of crypto/digital tokens,” Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday (Nov. 16).

Read more: India Likely to Recognize Crypto as Tradable Asset Class in Upcoming Bill

An upcoming crypto regulation bill is in the works by India’s government is expected to be presented in parliament’s winter session, according to a report in CoinDesk on Wednesday (Nov. 17).

While crypto will be regulated as an asset rather than as a currency that can be used for payments, the proposed bill will ban active solicitation and advertisements from crypto firms.

“Regulating crypto as an asset doesn’t solve all the issues that authorities are concerned about, but it does take it out of the currency arena, which is one of RBI’s worries,” Tanvi Ratna, founder and CEO of think tank Policy 4.0, told CoinDesk.

Ratna added that the issue of advertisements was the catalyst to a “big debate,” with some thinking that the ads mislead youth.

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