Bitcoin prices fell to their lowest rates since October 13, apparently in response to the central government’s decision to introduce a bill in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament to regulate cryptocurrency.
All major digital currencies saw a fall of around 15 per cent and more, with Bitcoin down by around 18.53 per cent, Ethereum fell by 15.58 per cent, and Tether down by 18.29 per cent. According to data sourced from CoinDesk, a New York-based news site specialising in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin’s value depreciated to $55,460.96 on Tuesday evening, an additional 20 per cent slump from the all-time high of nearly $69,000 that it reached earlier on in November.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, is among 26 bills listed for introduction in the Winter Session, beginning on November 29, according to the Lok Sabha website.
This comes a week after a Parliamentary panel, chaired by BJP leader Jayant Sinha, discussed the pros and cons of crypto finance with various stakeholders, and an agreement was reached that digital currencies can’t be stopped but must be regulated.
The bill seeks to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India” but allows for “certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses”. It also aims to “create a facilitative framework” for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the RBI.
India has been taking a keen note on cryptocurrencies, thanks to its robust growth in the country amid a lack of regulations, but the government has been eager to bring in laws to regulate the digital currency sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week said cryptocurrencies must not fall into the “wrong hands and spoil our youth”, urging all democratic nations to come together and ensure things like these do not happen. The government and the RBI had recently hinted about floating a strong regulatory control on cryptocurrency to avoid money laundering and terror financing, rather than banning it entirely.
Other Bills to be Moved
Among the 26 bills is also the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which aims to effect amendments in Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980 and incidental amendments to Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in the context of the 2021 Union Budget announcement regarding privatisation of two public sector banks.
The most significant among all the 26 bills will be the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 to junk the three farm laws moved by the Centre last year. PM Modi had last week declared that the government would move a bill in this Winter Session to repeal all the three farm laws as it failed to make the farmers and farm unions understand the significance of the three legislations.
“We could not convince some farmers. We tried our best to explain these laws to the farmers. We spoke, we discussed and we tried to convince them. The government was ready to rework these laws. A lot has happened in two years…Today, I apologise if some farmers did not understand what we wanted to do through the farm laws. We have decided to repeal the three farm laws,” Modi had said during his address to the nation.
The farm laws that will be repealed are — Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The Pension and Data Protection Bills
The Data Protection Bill and The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021, are also listed for introduction in the Parliament.
The pension bill aims to amend Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act to fulfil 2019’s Budget Announcement regarding the separation of National Pension System Trust from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and to fulfil last year’s Budget Announcement for ensuring universal pension coverage as well as strengthening the PFRDA.
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