Govt seeks disclosure of crypto transactions, holdings

Govt seeks disclosure of crypto transactions, holdings

In a first, the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has asked all companies in the country to mandatorily disclose any dealings in cryptocurrency or virtual currency in their balance sheets. This is a major step towards regulating crypto assets in India and is expected to bring in a lot of transparency in reporting or filing of crypto investments.

The companies have to disclose profit or loss on transactions involving cryptocurrency or virtual currency, the amount of holding, and details of deposits or advances from any person for the purpose of trading or investing in cryptocurrency or virtual currency, according to the latest amendments to the Schedule III of the Companies Act, 2013. This will be applicable from the upcoming financia lyear, MCA said in a notification on Wednesday.

“From regulation to a complete ban, there are many competing theories as to what the actual legislation will be. Keeping that narrative in mind, the fact that the government has asked for disclosures, it may look to perhaps regulate rather than ban cryptocurrencies. But these are still early days and the most important piece of regulation is still to come," said G.V. Anand Bhushan, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.

There are estimated to be around 10 million individual crypto investors in India, but the number of companies having exposure to this avenue is not known.

“The government’s move is expected to boost institutional adoption of crypto assets. We are eagerly waiting for positive regulatory guidelines from the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India for more clarity on crypto regulation in India. Indians have already invested around $1.5 billion in crypto assets, which clearly shows their intent towards embracing digital assets," said Shivam Thakral, chief executive officer, BuyUcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange.

Globally, major companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy have been holding big amounts of bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Despite the MCA making it official for companies to hold and report crypto assets in their books, experts feel that there is still a disparity on how these assets will be taxed.

“Whether it is going to be taxed as business income, capital gains or speculative income, it is still to be tested. But it is certain that this information will be mined by the income tax authorities to verify whether people have paid taxes on this particular income or not," said Pallav Narang, partner at CNK RK & Co. Chartered Accountants. “The government’s intent seems to include and regulate cryptocurrencies," he added.

Meanwhile, the government is in the process of bringing in a bill on cryptocurrencies. The contents of the bill are not yet known, but the Centre has said in February that the bill would seek to ban all private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. However, recently it had hinted that it would take a calibrated approach towards digital assets.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via

Coinbase to Open India Branch Even as Potential Ban on Crypto Looms

Disclosure

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group , which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups

Indian Government Says Companies Must Disclose Crypto Holdings

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) – Bitcoin’s worst selloff since December is dealing a particularly harsh blow to the biggest fund tracking the cryptocurrency.The $29.4 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker GBTC) has dropped about 20% so far this week, nearly double the decline in the world’s largest cryptocurrency. GBTC closed over 14% below the value of its underlying holdings on Wednesday as a result – a record discount, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The dislocation has deepened despite Grayscale Investment LLC parent Digital Currency Group Inc.’s plans to purchase up to $250 million worth of GBTC shares.The GBTC free-fall highlights the extent to which the latest leg of the retail-driven crypto craze is cooling. The trust has persistently traded at a premium to its net asset value since launching, with investors willing to pay up for a piece of Bitcoin as it rockets higher. However, given that GBTC doesn’t allow redemptions – meaning that trust shares can only be created, not destroyed like in conventional funds – the number of shares outstanding has ballooned to a record 692 million. With Bitcoin’s price now stalling, that’s created a supply and demand imbalance as accredited investors in the trust seek to offload their shares in the secondary market“GBTC has a fixed supply and acts like a leveraged play on Bitcoin,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said. “As price goes down, sentiment goes down, GBTC is going to fall further than Bitcoin. Same thing happens on the way up.”Bitcoin fell for a fifth day on Thursday to a two-week low, its longest losing streak since December. Demand for crypto has sank amid emerging signs that retail traders are retreating from markets, with everything from call options volume to GameStop Inc. shares to the mega-popular Ark Innovation exchange-traded (ticker ARKK) fund faltering.In addition to individual investors stepping back, demand from institutions may be cooling with the debut of several Bitcoin ETFs in Canada. While U.S. regulators have yet to approve the structure, high-profile issuers such as Fidelity Investments have filed plans.“The addition of ETFs in Canada likely pulled away some capital from GBTC,” Seyffart said. “Mainly institutional money, because most retail can’t easily buy a Canadian ETF.”(Updates with Digital Currency Goup’s plans to buy GBTC shares in the second paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.