The Indian government is reportedly “not in favor” of banning cryptocurrency, new sources claim June 13.
Gov’t vs. Central Bank
Citing local financial company Cogencis, local news media outlet Economic Times said a dedicated panel studying cryptocurrency “may suggest allowing cryptocurrency,” but with undisclosed “riders” – or provisos – about its usage.
If true, the perspective puts the government increasingly at odds with India’s central bank, which in April demanded banks halt interaction with cryptocurrency entities.
Those affected will challenge that decision at the Supreme Court July 20, while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has faced mounting criticism over its stance, which many parties claim was a knee-jerk reaction to perceived threats.
“The RBI specifically mentions that it conducted no research or consultation before the implementation of restriction in April,” Economic Times quotes local lawyer Varun Sethi as saying about the bank’s justification after he filed a Right To Information request.
The RBI also responded that no committee was ever formed for analyzing the concept of blockchain before the decision.
The Ban That Never Was
India has continued to agonize over how to treat Bitcoin this year, with politicians’ mentioning of regulation snowballing into claims the country would instigate a full ban.
No official sources have mentioned banning cryptocurrency, the concept appearing as a result of mainstream press coverage and social media rumors.
Ahead of the court hearing to mitigate the effect of the bank “prohibition” currently in force, lawyers representing the industry meanwhile appeared confident.
“This RBI response has cemented our case ahead of the hearing in [the Supreme Court],” Rashmi Deshpande, associate partner at Khaitan & Co said commenting on Sethi’s information.
The grounds on which our writ petition has been filed is that the RBI has not done enough research to ban a business completely.
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