10-Year Imprisonment For Cryptocurrency Trading In India: Report

A proposal made in the draft of Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019 said that anybody dealing in cryptocurrencies in India will be imprisoned for 10 years. A report by Bloomberg Quint specifies that the penalty applies to those who "mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose, issue or deal in cryptocurrencies directly or indirectly."

The move will impede the functioning of several cryptocurrency trading platforms that are currently operational in the country. For some time now, these entities were awaiting favourable steps from the government for cryptocurrencies. Also, the step is likely to restrict those who carry out transactions in these digital tokens.

The panel drafting the bill is headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and also has members of the SEBI and representatives from CBDT and investigative agencies among others.

The measure further suggests that cryptocurrencies are unlikely to be regularized in India.

While the draft proposes stringent measure against those dealing in cryptocurrencies, it also supports the launch of an official digital token the 'digital rupee' for India.

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