India considers total ban on crypto assets, even 'holding' is penalized

The Indian government has indicated its intention to submit a bill that completely bans crypto assets such as Bitcoin. The bill is reported to ban not only the trading of crypto assets, but even 'holding' them.

India to propose cryptocurrency ban, penalising miners, traders --source | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-cryptocurrency-ban-idUSKBN2B60R0

India plans cryptocurrency ban, will penalize miners and traders
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/15/india-plans-cryptocurrency-ban-will-penalize-miners-and-traders.html

The crypto asset ban bill revealed by a senior Indian government official criminalizes possession, issuance, mining, trading, and transfer of crypto assets. After the law comes into effect, domestic crypto asset holders will be obliged to dispose of crypto assets within 6 months, and those who do not comply will be penalized. The penalties are undecided, but it is reported that the 2019 Government Committee had proposed a 'up to 10 years in prison'.

China is a typical country that imposes restrictions on crypto assets. Not only is China banning the trading of crypto assets at public financial institutions and payment institutions, but the Chinese government has recently announced its intention to impose restrictions on mining because of waste of electricity, and in fact On February 25, 2021, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government of China enacted a law that 'totally prohibits the mining of crypto assets.'

China / Inner Mongolia bans virtual currency 'mining' | 'Caixin' China Biz & Tech | Toyo Keizai Online | New standard for economic news
https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/415514

However, even in China, 'ownership' is not prohibited. Therefore, the bill under consideration by the Indian government is reported to be 'one of the strictest policies in the world for crypto assets.'

The volume of crypto asset transactions in India has increased sharply in recent years, and although there is no official statistical information, it is estimated that 8 million investors own a total of 100 billion rupees (about 150 billion yen) of crypto assets. It has been. In fact, India's crypto asset exchange Bitbns reports that 'the number of new registrants and inflows have increased 30-fold in a year,' and Unocoin , a long-established crypto asset exchange in India, also said 'most recently a month. The number of new registrants is increasing at a pace of 20,000 per person, and the transaction volume has increased 30 times in the last year. '

It is believed that the epidemic of crypto assets in India is influenced by the decision of the Supreme Court of India in March 2020 that 'the ban on the trading of crypto assets by the central bank is unconstitutional.' Therefore, the Indian government is expected to take measures by enacting a new strict regulation law on crypto assets.

'We are confident that the bill will be enacted because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has a majority in parliament,' said a senior government official who revealed this information.