Bill to ban crypto in India 2021? – Should I SELL or HOLD my investment?
There has been a lot of crypto news that has shaken India since 2018. A situation that has definitely kept people who trade in the cryptocurrency market in India in constant expectation. In the Asian giant, many wonders, is it legal or not to buy bitcoin in India?
Let’s do a count to put this whole situation in context:
- In 2018 the Reserve Bank of India RBI, issued an order that prohibited the national bank from maintaining commercial ties with companies in the crypto sector, this was an indirect way of prohibiting the trading of cryptocurrencies.
- During the year 2018 to 2020, the Indian crypto-community made up mainly of national exchange companies, did not stop working for the Supreme Court of India to lift the order issued by the RBI.
- In March 2020, the Supreme Court of India would formally lift the ban.
- Since then the crypto-community has lived through a period that has been called the Indian crypto-spring. This caused a significant increase in the purchase of bitcoin in India and in general the trading of cryptocurrencies.
You may wonder despite all this, how can I buy bitcoin in India? One option for this can be a secure P2P Exchange for exchanging Bitcoin to INR, which allows you to do it through your local currency the Rupee (INR), for example in Remitano, LocalBitcoin, WazirX P2P, Binance P2P etc.
However, it should be noted that the lifting of the order that prohibited commercial ties between the national Indian bank and the crypto-market companies was only temporary, since in the face of the lack of support from the RBI regarding decentralized cryptocurrencies, in June 2020 the Ministry of Finance of India proposed legislation that was intended to again ban the trading of decentralized cryptocurrencies, that is, buying bitcoin in India.
- In January 2021, the actions of said legislation have advanced significantly, to the point that a parliamentary commission has proposed a bill that would not only prohibit the use and trade of cryptocurrencies in the Asian nation but also regulate a new government digital currency emanating from the RBI, all this according to a senior Finance Ministry official who testified anonymously to Bloomberg.
- This bill according to the anonymous source is called “Bill on Cryptocurrencies and regulation of the official digital currency, 2021”.
- In March 2021, one year after the lifting of the ban by the Supreme Court of Justice of India, the ban on decentralized cryptocurrencies in the Asian giant seemed imminent.
- Proof of the said above, is that the Indian government is already planning to block all the IPs of the most popular exchanges in the crypto-market. In addition, according to Reuters, the bill will penalize the possession, issuance, mining, trading, and transfer of assets in cryptocurrencies. However, apparently, there are still divided opinions within the Indian government, for example, on the other hand, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India will not close all options when it comes to cryptocurrencies, “A Cabinet Note is being prepared. It is almost finished and will then be brought to Cabinet … we will allow a certain amount of window for people to experiment with blockchain and bitcoin. However, the cryptocurrency formulation will be part of the note of the Cabinet that will be ready soon”. Reaffirming this hypothesis, many crypto experts have stated to Business Standard that since they already predict that an important segment of the Indian population will continue to trade quietly through private Internet networks (VPN), a phenomenon very similar to that which occurs in China.
- In parallel to the above, the Indian crypto-community led by the national Exchanges have organized through a campaign that uses the hashtag #IndiaWantsCrypto on the main social networks, the purpose is to encourage decentralized pro-cryptocurrency citizens to persuade the parliamentarians who have elected through their votes in their respective jurisdictions, in such a way that they can intercede to avoid the prohibition of decentralized cryptocurrencies in India, or at least advocate that their regulation is as fair as possible, as well They leave it understood in their communications on the web portals https://indiawantscrypto.net and https://indiawantsbitcoin.org.
Should I SELL or HOLD my investment?
Now after the whole timeline, there is one crucial fact that most crypto traders in India are concerned about and that is what to do, sell or hold bitcoin in India?
Regarding this point, the anonymous senior official of the Indian Ministry of Finance has said that: “Cryptocurrency holders will have a period of three to six months to liquidate their funds in cryptocurrencies”. Source
However, and despite the official “total ban” to buy cryptocurrencies in India (or trade all kinds of decentralized cryptocurrency), this is not true at all.
First, we must understand that the phenomenon of decentralized finance, DeFi, is designed in such a way that it can be used without the need for the approval of any government in the world.
In other words, decentralized cryptocurrencies are not supported by governments, but by a global community that has organized under a decentralized consensus called Proof of Work or Proof of Stake, among others, which allows blockchain technology (or others) to allow most decentralized cryptocurrencies to be self-sustaining and self-governing.
The blockchain technology of decentralized cryptocurrencies is characterized by being disruptive, which is why it is normal that most of the world’s governments do not approve of it, since these governments only want to maintain control and power over citizens.
So you do not need your government’s approval to continue to keep your cryptocurrency savings and earnings in India or any other country in the world, consequently you only need:
- Have a decent internet connection.
- If the censorship of the Indian government goes beyond the theoretical and moves to the technical by blocking web pages and apps of the cryptocurrency exchange. From today, you can download the multiple apps that provide you with an international VPN, so that you can continue trading decentralized cryptocurrencies.
- Make sure you have all your computers and Smartphones protected so that no person or authority can have access to your free, independent, and decentralized finances.
- Choose a safe, ethical and responsible exchange.
If you are looking for a secure exchange, we recommend Remitano, where you can buy bitcoin in India quickly and safely, and best of all through your local currency the Indian Rupee (INR). All this instantly through the following link: https://remitano.com/r/in/buy-sell-bitcoin-in-india.
Conclusion
Do not know to worry about the possible ban on the purchase of bitcoin in India, as the decentralized cryptocurrency technologies are disruptive and are changing the finances of the world, making you freer, no matter what they say governments of the world, through Internet access and the use of VPNs (in case of extreme blockade) you can continue to trade cryptocurrencies in India, or any other country in the world that you are. Take a look at the case of China, a communist political country, and yet it is still one of the most important crypto-markets in the world.
If you can still trade cryptocurrencies in a country with strict dictatorial control of a single political party, surely in India you will be able to continue buying and holding bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies, even making profits through trading.