インド、仮想通貨を禁止へ　法案発表

【ニューデリーＡＦＰ＝時事】インド議会は２３日、民間の暗号資産（仮想通貨）を禁止し、中央銀行が支援するデジタル通貨の枠組みをつくる法案を政府が提出すると発表した。（写真は資料写真）
　議会の告示によると、法案は「インド国内の民間暗号通貨の全面的禁止」を目指す内容で、次の会期に提出される。仮想通貨技術を促進するために一部の例外を認めるとしているが、詳細は公表されていない。
　インドは中国に続き、仮想通貨禁止に動く主要新興国となる。中国は９月、すべての仮想通貨取引を違法と宣言。インドのナレンドラ・モディ首相は先週、ビットコインが「間違った人の手に」渡れば若者に悪影響を及ぼす可能性があると警告していた。
　ブロックチェーン分析企業チェイナリシスの調査によると、インドでは昨年４月に最高裁が過去の禁止命令を覆して以来、仮想通貨市場が急成長を続けており、その規模は過去１年間で７倍以上に拡大した。
　インド中央銀行は６月、独自のデジタル通貨の年内導入を目指すと発表。ビットコインやイーサリアムなどの民間仮想通貨に関しては「深刻な懸念」を抱いていると警告している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/24-13:33）

India's government will introduce a bill to ban private cryptocurrencies and create a framework for a central bank-backed digital money, parliament said in a shock announcement late Tuesday.
The proposed bill seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, the Lok Sabha said, and comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned last week that Bitcoin presents a risk to younger generations and could spoil our youth if it ends up in the wrong hands.
It is the latest such move by a major emerging economy, after China declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal in September.
India's crypto market has boomed since the country's Supreme Court overturned a previous ban in April last year, growing more than 600 percent over the past year according to research by Chainalysis.
Between 15 and 100 million people in Asia's third-largest economy are estimated to own cryptocurrencies, with total holdings in the billions of dollars.
Their investments will now face an uncertain future.
India's central bank announced in June that it is working to introduce its own digital currency by the end of the year, while warning it has serious concerns about private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and others.
The bill, to come before the new legislative session, will allow for some exceptions to promote cryptocurrency technology, according to parliament's bulletin of upcoming business, but no further details about the proposed legislation were released.
The market price of Bitcoin appeared unaffected and was up 1.67 percent in Tuesday's trade.
But the phrasing of the proposed bill sent alarm bells ringing among local traders and enthusiasts.
The wording has created a panic, Kashif Raza, founder of crypto-education platform Bitinning, said, adding that the industry expected the government to take a more favourable view after recent consultations with the industry.
Obviously there will be a shutter-down on the industry, he added. The industry will die in its natural way. Intellectual capital will move away, investors will face losses.
- Under scrutiny -
Cryptocurrencies have been under scrutiny by Indian regulators since first entering the local market in 2013.
A surge in fraudulent crypto transactions following the Modi government's demonetisation of nearly all banknotes in 2016 led to the country's central bank banning crypto transactions in April 2018.
The Supreme Court lifted the ban two years later and investments have surged in the time since.
Indians have been bombarded in recent months with advertisements for CoinSwitchKuber, CoinDCX and other home-grown crypto exchanges across television channels, online streaming services and social media.
These platforms spent more than 500 million rupees ($6.7 million) on advertising spots during the recently concluded T20 cricket World Cup, research by TAM Sports showed, with viewers subjected to an average of 51 cryptocurrency advertisements per match.
Analysts say regulation would be central to addressing security risks, with crypto exchanges increasingly targeted by cyber criminals as virtual currency prices soar.