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Reuters: India may ban all cryptocurrency-related activities, including holding, trading and mining

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According to industry estimates, 8 million investors in India currently hold 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) in cryptocurrency investments.

Rhythm BlockBeats news, March 15, according to Reuters, a senior Indian government officials say India will propose a ban on encryption monetary law, for any transactions in the country and even those who hold such digital assets shall be fined, it may about the hot asset classes into millions of investors.

The official, who has direct knowledge of the plan, said the bill is one of the strictest cryptocurrency policies in the world, making it a crime to hold, issue, mine, trade and transfer cryptoassets. The move is in line with a government agenda in January that called for a ban on private virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, while creating a framework for official digital currencies. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bill would give cryptocurrency holders up to six months to liquidate before they would be penalized, although the content of the bill has not been made public.

If the ban becomes law, India would become the first major economy to outlaw the possession of cryptocurrencies. In India, local trading volumes have ballooned despite the government's threat to ban cryptocurrencies, with 8 million investors currently holding 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) in cryptocurrency investments, according to industry estimates.

However, the senior official told Reuters that the plan is to ban private crypto assets while promoting blockchain technology.

India's finance ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.