Ahead of proposing a Bill in the Indian parliament during the forthcoming winter session, the government has frowned upon advertising crypto currencies in the local media, terming them ‘non-transparent’.

“It was strongly felt that attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising (related to crypto currency) be stopped,” Reuters quoted an Indian government source as saying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi late last week chaired a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the future of crypto currencies, the media reports quoted unnamed sources, amid reports the government is considering modifying a Bill that would have led to a ban.

Moneycontrol.com reported that the meeting came at a time when the Finance Ministry was working towards introducing a comprehensive Bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, investors and exchanges in the winter session of Parliament.

While private crypto currencies were unlikely to be allowed as legal tender, they may be allowed as assets, which can be invested in, moneycontrol.com quoted from one of its earlier reports.

The Indian media has been witnessing a rise in advertising of crypto currencies and crypto exchanges in recent times, including such TV commercials also popping up on prime time and during the men’s T20 cricket World Cup.

In an interview to the Outlook magazine sometime back, Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO of crypto currency platform WazirX and member of Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), which is part of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, had said the right regulation would push the industry forward.

“There are millions of people who are not participating because the crypto market is not regulated. There are also a lot of startup founders who are afraid to invest in cryptos. They want some kind of regulatory oversight before they get in.

“So, the right regulations will push this industry forward faster. But over-regulation or wrong regulations can have a negative impact on this industry. But overall, rules and regulations will make this industry more popular,” Shetty had opined.

India’s digital currency market was worth $6.6 billion in May 2021, compared with $923 million in April 2020, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis.