Begin India’s founder Think Tank says Bitcoin should be regulated as stock, which he believes is the legal status that the cryptocurrency in India should get. He also claims Bitcoin is maybe the best technology in our lives.
How Bitcoin Should Be Regulated in India
Begin India Think Tank founder Deepak Kapoor shared his views on how to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in India in an interview published on Sunday by BW Businessworld, a local business magazine. Start India Think Tank helps the Indian government and enforcement agencies battle cryptocurrencies-including crimes.
On the legality of bitcoin, Kapoor emphasised “there was no ban on cryptocurrency,” adding that the only prohibition on cryptocurrency was the banking ban imposed by the central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which was quashed in March by the supreme court.
He went on to address private cryptocurrencies. “Globally everybody wants to transform bitcoin into a private currency that won’t be allowed because it’s going to cause economies to crash,” he said. “You make it legal and you could put the whole country’s economy at stake,” the founder of the Begin India Think Tank asserted, explaining:
“Bitcoin should, I guess, be traded as stock. That’s the only legal status it can get and should be granted that right. This may actually be the most cryptographically secure system we’ve ever seen in our lives.”
Kapoor further clarified that cryptocurrency is not even a registered category of crime in India, adding that this should be recognised first by the authorities. “I would like senior officials from investigative and law enforcement agencies at least to hear about it first, and to hear what the world is moving towards,” he told the paper.
“We need to have a body, but investing in bitcoins or any other currency is almost identical, so why doesn’t SEBI [India’s Securities and Exchange Board] simply declare it as a digital type of asset and go along with it.”\
He also shared, “The most terrifying and daunting aspect is that I can turn the entire US or world economy into a small thing and hold it in my pocket or laptop.” Nevertheless, he stressed, “The technology is actually custom-built and can not be hacked.” He then spoke about China, noting that “nearly 68 percent of all bitcoins reside on their servers in China.” The think tank founder continued: “We are so terrified by their applications today that they are taking away our data sitting somewhere else. Imagine that if I have to invest in bitcoins then 68 percent of all those still come from China. They already have the data and I’m not going to be surprised if they have the passport or copy of something that I do.
India currently has no rules for the direct cryptography. However, a draught bill to ban cryptocurrencies, submitted by the Interministerial Committee headed by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, is reportedly being debated by government. However, India’s crypto group strongly believes the government won’t outlaw cryptocurrency and this bill won’t be implemented as it is.
Start India Think Tank co-organized a closed-door conference at the headquarters of United Nations India in New Delhi in December. Member of Parliament Dr Subramanian Swamy, who said “Cryptocurrency is unavoidable,” took part. The conference discussed methods, technology, and delivery mechanisms of cryptocurrencies that make countries vulnerable, particularly their law enforcement.
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