RBI takes the first step to bank use of crypto currencies in India: Angel Broking

"On the day the April Monetary Policy was announced by the RBI, the central bank also took a decisively negative view on allowing crypto currencies. It may be recollected that crypto currencies like Bitcoins do not have a central bank issuing them but they are created through an iterative process called mining. Bitcoins are entirely maintained online through adequate levels of security and is based on the innovative Blockchain technology, which is already taking the world of technology by storm.

While central banks across the world have been wary of the rising market cap of Bitcoins, the RBI has taken the first step by barring RBI regulated entities from providing any services to individuals or businesses dealing in these digital currencies. The RBI has been consistently warning Bitcoin traders in India against dealing in these digital currencies as they were fraught with default risk and hacking risks. Also, Bitcoins operated more as a shadow monetary system in the world. So what will be the implications of this move on digital currencies like Bitcoins in India?

There was a worry that people were using Bitcoins for a variety of reasons ranging from laundering money to paying proceeds of crime. China has already cracked down hard on Bitcoins while Japan and South Korea have put in place stringent regulations on digital currencies. While the Indian government is still looking at the merits of Blockchain technology for record keeping, Bitcoin appears to be hard to digest. In fact, RBI is planning its own digital currency which will be fiat based unlike crypto currencies. However experts like R Gandhi, the former RBI deputy governor, have expressed reservations over the ban on crypto currencies as he feels they can still operate outside the purview of the banking system."

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords