India is contemplating banning Bitcoin again. This kind of situation always happens during a bull run, and it is something most of us have already tried getting used to.
Even if India decided to crack down on Bitcoin, it would not matter in the end because if China can not effectively stop Bitcoin, then India might not be able to do it also.
On Sunday, Reuters published an interview with a senior Indian government official who stated that the nation would almost inevitably ban cryptocurrency; a pending bill will soon be introduced to parliament to achieve this. The official also said that in addition to a ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, holding cryptocurrencies also become a criminal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
This is about the fifth time or so that Indian politicians have proposed banning cryptocurrency. It is not very likely for this one to succeed, though.
Although the finance minister has said that the government will provide a window of opportunity for crypto, it is against a blanket ban. From the look of things, not everybody is on board with this proposal.
If they pass the bill to ban and criminalize Bitcoin, it will not achieve anything.
First and foremost, they will be challenged in the Supreme Court. Indian Supreme Court has already affirmed itself as an upholder of cryptocurrency investor rights. They already overturned a banking ban last year, so this might get a shutdown if it passes.
It's funny how a mere Bitcoin ban would not stop people from holding Bitcoin or trading bitcoin. Bitcoin is borderless and uncensorable; it will still float in and out of the country regardless of what happens.
Although, it will be harder for regular people to get their hands on Bitcoin.
There are no cases of large economies like India successfully banning Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. In 2017, China tried banning cryptocurrency; they blocked all exchanges, shut down crypto groups on social media and the sorts, but still did not stop China's people from trading cryptocurrency. In fact, with all these restrictions, the crypto market in China is bigger than it has ever been.
Another country is Nigeria. At the beginning of February, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that crypto exchanges would be banned, and financial institutions should close all crypto-related bank accounts. All this did not still stop the trading and investment of cryptocurrency. Instead, it has encouraged Peer-to-Peer exchange.
