Major concerns about crypto currencies conveyed to govt: RBI governor

This comes after RBI's circular earlier this week that clarified banks can no longer cite its circular on crypto for not offering such products to customers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday made its stance clear on cryptocurrencies, saying it has major concerns around such assets, reiterating its long-standing position on the use of virtual currencies.
 
The RBI has also conveyed its position and concerns on such assets to the central government.
 
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said: “There is no change in RBI’s position. We have major concerns around cryptocurrencies, which we have conveyed to the government. And, about investors, it is for each investor to do his/her due diligence and take a very careful and prudent call.”
 

This comes after the RBI issued a circular earlier this week, clarifying that banks can no longer cite its circular on cryptocurrencies for not offering such products to customers, but said the lenders must adhere to local rules, which are quite exclusionary. Many private lenders had sent emails to customers cautioning them about dealing in virtual currencies citing the RBI’s 2018 circular.

 
The central bank, in its circular on April 6, 2018, had prohibited banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies or offering any service to customers on them. The circular was challenged in the Supreme Court, which set aside the rules on March 4, 2020.  “As you are aware, the Supreme Court set aside RBI’s circular issued in 2018 but it came as a surprise that some banks are referring to that circular in their correspondence with their customers. Therefore, we had to set the record straight that the particular circular (which the banks were referring to) has been set aside so it is not at all correct to refer to that circular,” the governor said.

 
Post-RBI’s clarification earlier this week, HDFC Bank retracted its earlier communication to its customers that cautioned them against dealing in virtual currencies.
 
Avinash Shekhar, co-CEO, ZebPay, said, “We hope the government will listen to all relevant stakeholders  to take a calibrated approach.” Atul Pandey, partner at Khaitan & Co, said considering that the SC has struck down RBI’s earlier circular, the central bank cannot formally bring out any additional notification that goes against the judgment.
 
The Centre has not clarified its stance on cryptocurrencies, rather it is giving conflicting signals because of which exchanges have lived under the threat of closure for many years.

 
“We have already formed an SRO for all the crypto exchanges to follow best practices. I think it’s high time the government ends the ambiguity and passes laws either way. Now, the ball is in the government’s court,” said Vishwas Patel, chairman of Payments Council of India.
 
According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), 15 million users and upwards of 10,000 crores are held by small investors in cryptos.
 
"The activity per se is not illegal currently, which means the services that banks provide to all other businesses, they have to provide the same here also. But, the nature of the business is such, it requires higher compliance but since there are no formal guidelines, industry body BACC is trying to prescribe the same for now on a voluntary basis. From an industry side, our stand has always been that such activities need to be formally regulated. So, we should solve the fundamental issue of regulating crypto trading in India. This is a sector we can’t miss not to be in", said Naveen Surya, Chairman, Fintech Convergence Council.