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Cryptocurrencies were back in the green on Thursday as investors shed initial nervousness even as industry bodies said private cryptos should not be allowed as a currency but can be regulated as an asset to avoid unlawful usage.
More than 24 hours after a blood bath and almost a fourth of its value getting wiped out on the Indian exchanges, crypto prices recovered by nearly 10 per cent or more following Wednesday’s plunge of 15-20 per cent.
As of 6:00 pm on Thursday, Bitcoin was trading in green, up by 7.63 per cent. USDT or Tether’s price jumped by 4.83 per cent, Shiba Inu by 5.01 per cent, Dogecoin by 11.74 per cent and Ethereum by 8.02 per cent. Sandbox topped this list on WazirX, which was up by 11.77 per cent. The massive cryptocurrency crash on Indian exchanges on Wednesday was a result of a Lok Sabha notice summarising Bills to be discussed in the upcoming Winter parliamentary session.
The description next to The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 read that the government was seeking to prohibit private cryptocurrencies while allowing certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology.
This created confusion and unexpected panic sale among investors, leading to temporary crash of several exchange platforms.
Regulation
While the government is yet to reveal the proposed legislation, The Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which represents key players of the sector, argued in favour of prohibiting the usage of private cryptocurrencies as a currency in India by law since usage as currency is likely to interfere with monetary policy and fiscal controls.
On the other hand, the Council has advocated its use only as an asset. The Council believes that smartly-regulated crypto assets business will protect investors, help monitor Indian buyers and sellers, lead to better taxation of the industry, and limit illegal usage of cryptos.
“Crypto exchanges based in India offer an effective instrument of monitoring and are dedicated to creating an ecosystem that guarantees investor protection, besides bringing both investors and exchanges under proper tax laws.
“The Council believes that the efforts of the exchanges should be supported by a law that should enable them to provide safer services to investors and fair taxes to the government,” it added.
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