India's winter session of Parliament ended before schedule on Wednesday, without the tabling of a Cryptocurrency Bill. The government is seeking wider consultations with stakeholders before it brings in regulations on cryptocurrencies that have had young investors hooked. Radhika Bajaj reports from Mumbai. 

The much anticipated bill regulating investing and trading in cryptocurrencies will have to wait for India's next parliament session in February 2022. The Bill is expected to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies, regulate crypto investments and create a framework for an official digital currency by India's central bank. 

Sidharth Sogani, who runs a ratings firm focused on crypto and blockchain, has been part of the group of stakeholders that the government has been consulting with.

SIDHARTH SOGANI Founder & CEO, Crebaco Global "We proposed that the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which regulates the exchanges, are well equipped and understand how exchanges work and so they can regulate the exchanges, while exchanges can be the reporting bodies to SEBI and in order to monitor the inflow and outflow of bitcoin, because it is difficult to determine how much bitcoin is in circulation in India, there has to be one regulator that keeps a tab, for example there are 10,000 bitcoins in the market today. RBI can be the one that monitors the in and out. Again exchanges are the reporting body for that."

By some estimates India has the largest number of crypto currency investors in the world at 100 million. Most are under 35 years of age.

The government has expressed concerns over crypto currency being used for terror related activities as well as money-laundering that's leading to capital outflows. An increased number of scams have also proven to be red-flags.

RADHIKA BAJAJ Mumbai "Experts in the field say that regulation will have a positive impact on the growing interest in crypto currency in India. They say a framework where frauds are prevented and detected and fraudsters are held accountable is the need of the hour."

Globally, $7.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency was siphoned off from victims in 2021. In India, the Enforcement Directorate is probing at least eight crypto-related frauds. Smaller scams are often not investigated. Experts feel that the government needs to consider all pros and cons thoroughly, even if it means a delay in bringing in regulation.

RITESH BHATIA Founder, V4WEB Cybersecurity "We as a country are not prepared, we should take our time, understand the whole thing, because definitely there are many things positive about it. You know I don't have to pay money to the banks for transfers, I don't have to wait for my funds to come from abroad, so there are many benefits also so I would say the government should study it and then regulate it."

With rising cases of misleading advertisements, the government is also looking into advertising standards that can prevent investors from being fooled. Presently, there is a lack of both awareness and regulation, that leaves crypto-currency investing in India ambiguous and sometimes also dangerous. Radhika Bajaj, CGTN, Mumbai.