The use and subsequent trading of cryptocurrencies in India have been an issue of legal as well as moral ambiguity for some time now. Not too long ago, there had been widespread speculation that the country would end up outlawing cryptocurrencies completely as the local banks felt threatened by the new digital asset class. However, India remains one of the largest hotspots for cryptocurrency usage in the entire world, thanks in part to the fact that the country is considered to be an economic superpower as well as one of the most overly populated nations today.
As per the most recent developments, India’s central bank has now stated that restrictions pertaining to cryptocurrency trading will no longer be administered.
Confusion has been resolved
The aforementioned central bank, also known as RBI (Reserve Bank of India), has cleared up any and all confusion surrounding the issue via a letter that was issued to the appropriate bank account holders.
It had been this past Friday that a couple of India’s biggest banks, namely SBI and HDFC, had sent out notices to the account holders detailing the fact that transactions made in cryptocurrency are not allowed due to RBI guidelines. To this end, both of the banks gave reference to a document which had been published back in April of 2018 by the RBI, and it stated that any and all entities which may be regulated by the RBI are not to deal in cryptocurrencies and shall also not provide any kind of related services for the purposes of facilitating any entity or person who may be settling or dealing in cryptocurrencies.
Now though, it looks like the bank has provided some much-needed clarification on the fact that these guidelines are no longer applicable or valid as of this point in time. It had been on the 4th of March 2020 that India’s Supreme Court made the decision to have the order be reverted, thereby supporting the local cryptocurrency investors and ultimately eliminating the ban.
Cryptocurrency is not banned in India
Naturally, due to the uncertain and unpredictable situation regarding the use of cryptocurrency in India, many locals were confused as to what is and isn’t allowed. It had been in March of 2021 that local regulators were reportedly discussing the possibility of implementing a nationwide ban on the use of cryptocurrency in the country.
Now, however, Indian cryptocurrency investors can hopefully breathe a sigh of relief knowing that stricter and more rigid regulations will not be getting administered any time soon.