Pvt cryptocurrencies will never be legal tender: Finance Secretary

"Bitcoin, Ethereum or NFT will never become legal tender. Crypto assets are assets whose value will be determined between two people. You can buy gold, diamond, crypto, but that will have not have the value authorization by government," the finance secretary said, according to  Money Control.

Since there is no guarantee that investment in cryptocurrencies will be successful, people should avoid investing in them, Somanathan said.

The government will not be responsible if people suffer losses, he said.

However, the digital rupee to be launched by the Reserve Bank of India is a safe option, he stressed.

Digital currency will be backed by RBI which will never be default, he said.

Money will be of RBI but the nature will be digital, he explained.

"Digital rupee issued by RBI will be a legal tender. Rest all are not legal tender, will not, will never become legal tender," he reiterated.

Another key announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was taxation of income derived from virtual asset transactions.

Such proceeds will be treated at par with speculative gains like gambling, horse racing, etc. and attract a tax cut of 30 percent, the FM had said.

According to the government, 'virtual assets' is proposed to mean any information or code or number or token (not being Indian currency or any foreign currency), generated through cryptographic means or otherwise, by whatever name called. They also include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and any other tokens of similar nature.