Indian Government's views on cryptocurrencies have largely been very conservative and protectionist. They have always maintained that they don't recognise them as currency. They have preferred to call them crypto-assets.
Whatever maybe the case, it's true that they have been deliberating a course of action that will determine the future of cryptocurrencies and related startups in the countries. But, it's not only about the businesses, it's mostly about the people being given a choice between using the Rupee vs a decentralised digital currency that is not backed by any central authority.
According to QZ:
“If bitcoin and other digital currencies are going to be allowed to be used for payments then whether it will end up destabilising the fiat currency is a major concern for them (the Garg panel),” said one of the representatives from the cryptocurrency ecosystem who recently met the ministers, requesting anonymity. “The overall impact on the financial ecosystem that it is likely to have is still unclear and it has been a challenge to convince them on this particular point.”
But outside of speculation, cryptocurrencies don't have a lot of use in India as they are not legal tender. For that matter USD, Gold or any other asset is not legal tender in India. Only Indian Rupee is allowed to be used within India as legal tender. But ofcourse, there's no way to stop their use if someone wants to use them.
As with anything in India, there's always a major delay. The case against RBI continues at the Surpeme Court without any verdict and a lot of adjournments over the past year.
The interest around cryptocurrencies are quite good even after various FUDs and bearish markets. Exchanges are continuing to add new customers and the trading volumes are pretty decent as peer to peer methods of purchasing cryptocurrencies have gained popularity.
Government has many reasons to ban cryptocurrency but implementing such a ban is very difficult. India after all is a very big country and enforcing such laws is easier said than done and our government knows this too.
“At this point it may be a bit premature to worry about this as right now even globally only a handful of payments are made using virtual currencies and that will be the case till blockchain reaches the scale that say Mastercard or Visa have,” said Rahul Raj, founder of Koinex, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange.
At this point the government of India should look at what other countries are doing on this matter and try to be ahead of the curve with positive legislations that empower the citizens and businesses operating in this space from India. The false worries of cryptocurrency destabilising banks feels rather unfounded at this point.
Banks should figure out a way to adapt to this changing scenario because it's here to stay. Government will have no choice but to accept that Indian citizens will continue using cryptocurrencies and it's better to regulate them with laws that are easy to deal with for all parties involved.
With a few days to until the next hearing at the Supreme Court, let's hope for the best.
Also: See Indian Government's Responses On Cryptocurrency Over The Past Years!
If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- Why You Should Vote For Firepower As Witness—Witness Campaign Post From India!
- Steem.Chat Contest #63
Follow Me: 