The former finance minister of India & creator of India’s crypto bill, Subhash Garg, has made clear that “it is misleading to say that private cryptocurrencies will be banned.”
Former finance secretary Subhash Garg, stated that the ban of “private cryptocurrencies” was a misinterpretation, he also pointed up the huge potential of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies
The parliamentary discussion around a controversial crypto bill raised concerns about the ban on cryptocurrencies, but did not clearly indicate the scope of the ban. Indian investors experienced panic selling after the announcement. In an interview with the local news channel News 18, Garg clarified:
“The description of the crypto bill was perhaps a mistake. It is misleading to say that private cryptocurrencies will be banned and to intimate the government about the same.”
Subhash Garg believes that the Indian government need to formulate a bill after discussing it with stakeholders and crypto investors. In addition, the bill proposes to ban private cryptocurrencies without clarifying what the term “private” means.
Therefore, the Indian crypto community self-interpreted two different versions of the bill’s agenda-one considered banning all non-government issued cryptocurrencies, and the other excluded cryptocurrencies running on public blockchains, such as Bitcoin. And Ethereum.
After highlighting the huge ecosystem driven by disruptive technologies, Garg also pointed out the shortcomings of classifying cryptocurrencies as assets. He also stated that the benefits of crypto exchanges are limited and do not represent the entire community:
“You don’t classify the wheat that you produce, you don’t classify the clothes you produce, as assets. That is too much of an oversimplification to treat this as an asset.”
In the end, Garg said that the central bank’s digital currency initiatives, certainly in a country like India, are complex. The government first needs to exceed some challenges, according to Garg.
