India Has No Plans to Recognize Bitcoin as Currency; RBI Working on CBDC Rollout: Reports

The Indian government does not plan to recognize bitcoin as a currency, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

• During a question and answer session in the parliament, Sitharaman also said the government does not collect data on bitcoin transactions, according to a report from local news site Mint.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is also working on the phased implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the ministry of finance said, according to a report from the Economic Times (ET) on Monday. The central bank was reportedly planning to pilot test a CBDC in 2022.

• The RBI has already proposed an amendment a 1934 act to include digital currencies in the definition of bank notes, according to ET.

• The Indian parliament will discuss a highly anticipated bill for cryptocurrencies proposed by the government during its winter session, which started on Monday.

• The bill will ban all private cryptocurrencies, only allowing some to promote the underlying technology, but will also look to set up a framework for a RBI-backed digital currency, according to a Nov. 23 parliament bulletin.

Read more: Indian Government Submits Bill to Ban Most Cryptocurrencies, Dashing Hopes for Friendlier Measure