While we are waiting for the details are of the cryptocurrency bill, Andrew Holland of Avendus Alternate Strategies hopes, the government would treat it as an asset like anything else and everywhere else in the world. As long as it is not being used for illegal purposes, it should be fine, he noted.

Share Market Live

NSE

“This is a younger person’s game rather than anything else. So I don’t think they should be taking away another asset class. I am hoping it would be treated as an asset class, which gets taxed as normal or maybe some smarter regulation on some of these exchanges and companies, which are promoting investment in bitcoins and cryptos,” he stated.

His comments come as the cryptocurrency market is on the tenterhooks after the government's bulletin came to light Tuesday evening. The government is seeking to ban all the private cryptocurrencies and build a framework to launch a rupee-based digital currency.

Also Read | Explained: RBI’s concerns and systemic problems on cryptocurrencies

He remains positive on private banks. “I would stick to the private banks. Within the whole financial sector, I still think the insurance companies and the mutual fund industry will continue to do very well. That is the new theme which we will continue to play through in 2022,” he said.

According to him, the markets have been priced very high into the valuations and this near-term volatility in the benchmarks will continue. “We have been expecting this kind of volatility for some time now and I don’t think that is going to go away in the very short-term,” he added.

Also Read: FinMin circulates Cabinet note on cryptos, likely to be considered for decision soon

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

Catch all market updates here.