New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, will soon be banned in the country. Nirmala made this clear in the Rajya Sabha. From now on, only government-issued digital currencies will be allowed to exchange in the country.

‘A ministerial-level high-level committee was set up under the finance secretary to study the issue. The committee has recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies, the minister said.

Finance Minister Anurag Thakur has said that a meeting of the Empowered Technology Group on the ban will be convened soon. The RBI has taken a decision in this regard. The bill is also being prepared. It will be presented in Parliament soon, ”he added.

The Supreme Court recently lifted a ban on cryptocurrency transactions. With this, the government started moving to bring in a ban bill. At present, none of the financial regulatory bodies like RBI and SEBI have legal frameworks to regulate cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, the RBI had said it planned to launch a digital version of the rupee.