Cryptocurrency will not be accepted as legal tender, government has no data on bitcoin transactions: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The central government has made its stand clear on cryptocurrencies. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a statement on Monday that the central government has no plans to accept cryptocurrencies as a legal tender in the country. Responding to a query on data related to bitcoin transactions by the Centre, the Finance Minister also said that the Center does not collect any data on bitcoin transactions in India.

According to broker discovery and comparison platform Broker select, India has the largest number of cryptocurrency holders in the world. The number of cryptocurrency holders in India is 10.7 million. Countries like America, Russia, and Nigeria come after India. The number of cryptocurrency holders in the US is 27.4 million, while Russia is at number three on this list with 17.4 million crypto-owners. Nigeria also has a significant number of crypto holders, with 1.30 cryptocurrency holders in Nigeria.

Bitcoin is a kind of digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers, or other third parties. Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 as a cryptocurrency as well as an electronic payment system by an unknown group of programmers. It is reportedly the first decentralized digital currency where peer-to-peer transactions are conducted without any intermediaries.

Apart from this, the central government is also planning to introduce the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. The bill seeks to ban all but a few private cryptocurrencies while allowing official digital currency by the RBI.