Last-minute change led to decision of cryptocurrency ban by govt panel

The central government was initially in favour of “regulating” cryptocurrencies instead of imposing a blanket ban on them before it had a change of heart due to objections from various regulators, the record of discussions of the high-level committee, which released its recommendations on Tuesday, showed.

During deliberations, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who was chairing the inter-ministerial committee, pressed for “accepting virtual currencies as an economic phenomenon” and was not in favour of a ban initially, arguing that “regulating it will likely lead to better results”.

In fact, in the first meeting of the committee, which was held on November 27, 2017, the committee had broadly agreed that “the banning option is difficult to implement”. “It may also drive some operators underground, which may encourage use of such ‘currencies’ for illegitimate purposes,” minutes of the meeting showed.