NEW DELHI, 15 March, 2021 (TON): A senior government official told the media that India will propose a law banning crypto-currencies, fining anyone trading in the country, or even holding such digital assets.

The official said, “The bill, one of the world’s strictest policies against crypto-currencies, would criminalize possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring crypto-assets.”

He said while requesting to be unmanned as the contents of the bill are not yet public, “The measure is in line with a January government agenda that called for banning private virtual currencies such as bitcoin while building a framework for an official digital currency. But recent government comments had raised investors’ hopes that the authorities might go easier on the booming market.”

Officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government holds a comfortable majority in parliament

However, the bill would give the crypto-currency holders six months to convert the assets into cash after which penalties will be imposed.