- Tuesday, November 05, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (18) expressed concern over cryptocurrencies in a virtual speech made at the inaugural edition of The Sydney Dialogue. He urged the world’s democratic nations to ensure cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin did not “end up in the wrong hands” and “spoil” the youth.
Modi, who extolled opportunities presented by cyber-age technology at the forum which focused on emerging, critical and cyber technologies, also cautioned about digital currencies.
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“Take cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, for example. It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in the wrong hands, which can spoil our youth,” Modi said.
Modi did not, however, elaborate on the fears he spoke about in his speech.
Modi holds meet on cryptocurrency concerns
Authorities in India and many other parts of the world have raised concerns over the dangers of cryptocurrencies being used by terror groups and organised crime and the detrimental effect they could have on national economies.
India has particularly been vocal over keeping a vigilance over terror sources getting financed, particularly after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August.
Modi’s government is currently drafting regulations related to cryptocurrencies and could propose a ban on all transactions and payments in the same, while allowing investors to hold them as assets like gold, bonds and stocks, India’s Economic Times newspaper on Wednesday (17) reported.
Last Saturday (13), the prime minister chaired a meeting where India’s approach to cryptocurrencies were discussed and the Indian daily said his cabinet could receive the draft laws to review within a few weeks.
India’s northern neighbour China has also a ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining of the same.
India’s digital currency market was worth $6.6 billion in May this year, compared with $929 million in April last year, blockchain data platform Chainanalysis said.
