The government will soon bring in a new Bill on cryptocurrency after it is approved by the Union Cabinet, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha. A Bill on Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency for introduction in the Lok Sabha has been included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II, as part of the government business expected to be taken up during the ongoing winter session.

The Bill seeks to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. Replying to a series of questions in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said, "This Bill, once the Cabinet clears, will come to the house."

Read Here: No proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency: FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Lok Sabha

India’s cryptocurrency industry has been waiting with bated breath for the new legislation. The Finance Minister also added that the risk of cryptocurrencies falling into wrong hands needs to be monitored.

When asked if the government will ban cryptocurrency advertisements, the FM said that they are looking at the guidelines for advertisements.

Two members of the Standing Committee on Finance spoke to CNBC-TV18 and they said that they want India to regulate cryptocurrencies and not outright ban them.

To discuss this and more, CNBC-TV18’s Manisha Gupta spoke to Ajeet Khurana, Advisor at Crypto Projects, Jaideep Reddy, Technology Lawyer at Nishith Desai Associates and Mohammed Danish, Advocate at FinTech Lawyers.

Watch accompanying video for more.

Also Read: Cryptocurrency bill: Regulation likely to be graded, responsible rather than outright ban, says Amar Patnaik

(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)