India is looking at regulating, not banning.
The images are by Avishek Das.
India's government looks ready to regulate trading of digital currency rather than impose a ban, which was feared to be the case.
Lawmakers in India's lower house introduced a bill last week to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in the country.
Local exchanges saw a decline in the price of tHe virtual currency as holders faced the prospect of their holdings becoming illegal.
The cabinet note on the bill was cited by the local media outlet.
The proposed law should not refer to cryptocurrencies, according to the note.
It said that there will be a deadline for people to put their assets on exchange platforms.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India should be in charge of those exchanges.
Any violation of the rules could be punished with prison terms of up to 18 months or fines imposed by the SEBI, suggested the government. The penalties could be as high as 20 crore rupees.
The central bank of India is planning to test a "digital rupee" in the next few months. The proposed measures won't cover the central bank digital currency.
There was no hope that a private coin would be recognized as legal tender in India.
Business Insider has an original article.
