Will Crypto affect India’s financial stability?

In an interview with CNBC TV, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das said that financial stability in the country could be impacted by the rise of Cryptocurrencies. The Indian government is proposing to ban all cryptocurrencies and to deploy its own official digital rupee. 

The RBI Governor’s concerns are not new. Comments have been made by the bank in the past, stating that Cryptocurrencies were being used for a whole range of illegal activities, including money laundering and terrorist activities.  

Cryptocurrencies were also barred from being supported by banks back in 2018, as they were believed to be used for fraudulent activity, following the Indian demonetisation program to replace 500- and 1000-rupee currency notes. 

As with other major countries across the globe, India is currently developing its own digital currency and will be looking to launch it soon. Governor Das said that the central bank digital currency is “receiving our full attention”. 

China is also getting closer to a full roll-out of its own central bank digital currency, as trials in certain provinces have been ongoing over the previous few months. The Chinese digital yuan will have its own set of problems to deal with as it seeks to take market share from Alipay and WeChat, which currently have the vast majority of transactions in Asia’s largest country. 

The whole Cryptocurrency sector has just seen quite a large correction over the last couple of days, with Bitcoin descending 23%, Ethereum losing 33%, and the vast majority of the altcoins losing that and far more. 

However, a rally is currently taking place and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cryptocurrencies made up their losses fairly quickly in a market that is generally remaining buoyant. 

Negative press for Cryptocurrencies is still certainly out there, and governments and their officials continue to make comments seeking to discredit them. Notwithstanding, Bitcoin, Ethereum and the Crypto market in general are maintaining their advance.  

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.