Bitcoin – the oldest cryptocurrency that was launched in 2009 – had touched the level of $1 in 2011, and just after 10 years in 2021, it has touched the $50,000 level, providing a compound annual development price (CAGR) of more than 195 per cent for investors more than the final 10 years.
However, with the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 scheduled to be presented in Parliament in the present Budget session, the cryptocurrency investors in India are in a dilemma whether or not they ought to continue to hold their cryptocurrency assets or liquidate their holdings.
This is mainly because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had sometime back banned the crypto transactions in India. The choice was later overturned by the Supreme Court of India. The worry, even so, is that the new bill would bring a legislation to ban it once more.
In case of an outright ban, investors may possibly not be capable to use any bank account in India to deposit the sale proceeds just after liquidation of the cryptocurrencies.
However, when the acceptance of cryptocurrencies is expanding with the acceptance by institutes like Tesla, MasterCard, Paypal, Microstrategy and so forth, it is doubtful if the bill would place a blanket ban on it.
Bitcoin crosses $50,000 level, but what’s the future of cryptocurrencies in India?
In reality, according to a current survey – named “Consumer Sentiment On Bitcoin As A Payment Method” – carried out in the US by DealAid.org, 60.2 per cent of the customers participated in the survey stated they would like more firms – Amazon, Apple and Walmart are the prime 3 firms – to accept Bitcoin as a payment system.
The survey also revealed that 50.5 per cent of the customers participated are prepared to spend for goods and services with Bitcoin, when Ethereum and Doge are the most well-liked options to Bitcoin as a payment system in the US.
“Compared to the US and other countries, India has lesser institutional participation in crypto, due to regulatory uncertainty,” stated Nischal Shetty, CEO, WazirX.
“We don’t know the contents of the bill. However, I’m optimistic that our leaders will at least discuss with industry participants like us to understand the ground realities of Crypto before going ahead with any bill around this technology,” he stated.
So, what ought to the consumer do – ought to they sell or retain?
“As of now, there is no crypto regulation in India. Buying Bitcoin is absolutely legal in India, there is no law prohibiting Indians from buying/selling cryptocurrencies in India. There’s no reason for users to panic right now,” stated Shetty.