The Bill That Caused Massive Crypto Crash: Explained

Hours after the government announced that it will introduce the cryptocurrency bill in the winter session of Parliament, which seeks to ban all private cryptocurrencies in the country, all cryptocurrency prices fell 15 percent or more.

At 11:45 p.m. on Nov. 23, all major cryptocurrencies saw a drop of around 15 percent and more, with Bitcoin down around 17 percent, Ethereum down 15 percent, and Tether down nearly 18 percent. .

The 2021 Official Digital Currency Regulation and Cryptocurrency Bill seeks to create an enabling framework for the creation of an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The bill seeks to ban all private cryptocurrencies in the country, but will allow certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses.

The crypto bill, which aims to regulate digital currency, will be tabled in Parliament during the winter session that begins on November 29. The bill is among a total of 26 bills that have been included for submission, according to a government statement today. .

Last week, the first parliamentary discussion panel on cryptocurrencies was held, where a consensus was reached that cryptocurrencies cannot be stopped in India, but must be regulated.

The standing committee meeting on finance was chaired by BJP's Jayant Sinha, who met with representatives from crypto exchanges, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), industry bodies, and other stakeholders on November 16.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also chaired a high-level meeting with officials from various ministries and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the issue. Prime Minister Modi urged democratic nations to cooperate in regulating private virtual currencies, in case they could not fall into the "wrong hands."

In a speech delivered at the Sydney Dialogue last Thursday, Prime Minister Modi said it was important to ensure that digital currencies are not used illegally as they could spoil young people.

The RBI has been very reluctant to accept cryptocurrencies, expressing concern about potential risks to macroeconomic and financial stability and capital controls. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also raised concerns about the unregulated growth of cryptocurrencies in India, with vulnerable retail investors in mind.

Last week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that India needs much more in-depth discussions on the issue of cryptocurrencies. "When the central bank says that we have serious concerns from a macroeconomic and financial stability point of view, there are much deeper issues involved. I have yet to see serious and well-informed discussions in the public space on these issues," he added. Mr. Das had said.

Bitcoin was last trading 16.91% lower at Rs 38.76,950 against the rupee, while Ether was down 14.58% at Rs 2.92,897.