The fear that Indian government is inclined towards a complete ban on cryptocurrency was put to rest by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She said that certain windows will be open for blockchain, bitcoins or cryptocurrency.
At an India Today conclave, Sitharaman said, “My view on this is that of course the Supreme Court had commented on cryptocurrency and while the RBI may take a call on official cryptocurrency but from our side, we are very clear that we are not shutting off all options.”
A Cabinet note is being prepared on the issue of formulation of cryptocurrency in India. She said, “A Cabinet note is being prepared. It's almost nearing completion and then it will be taken to the Cabinet... we will allow a certain amount of windows for people to experiment on blockchain and bitcoin. However, the formulation of cryptocurrency will be part of the Cabinet note which will get ready soon.”
Meanwhile, in the past, Sitharaman had given a mixed response around cryptocurrency. But now, she is indicating the direction of the government in this regard.
Recently, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das had said that RBI had "major concerns" over the impact cryptocurrencies may have on the financial stability in the economy. He had revealed that RBI had conveyed the same to the government. He said the RBI's plans to launch its own digital currency remained a work in progress.
In 2018, RBI had banned cryptocurrency trading. This decision was overruled by the Supreme Court of India.
