The Reserve Bank of India is considering a proposal to introduce India’s own cryptocurrency that will be similar to Bitcoin, a Business Standard report said. The report further said that the proposal was discussed by a committee of government officials.
The government might name its cryptocurrency as “Lakshmi”.
Lakshmi is Goddess of Money - Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.
RBI’s executive director Sudarshan Sen had spoken about RBI’s discomfort with Bitcoin, which has recently come under intense global regulator scrutiny. Sen also hinted at the need for India’s own cryptocurrency.“Right now, we have a group of people who are looking at fiat cryptocurrencies. Something that is an alternative to the Indian rupee, so to speak. We are looking at that closely,"
The introduction of this new cryptocurrency may require the amendment of the Currency Act.
In last couple of weeks, Chinese and Russian governments have restricted bans on the usage of Bitcoins.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, made headlines when he said that Bitcoin was a “fraud” and that it will eventually “blow up”.
On Saturday, BTC China (BTCC), world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange announced the closure of its China operations.
Earlier this year, RBI has issued a warning to all Bitcoin users about the risk pertaining in dealing with the cryptocurrency.