Mumbai: Shaktikanta Das, governor of the RBI, made it clear on Friday that the central bank’s view on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin remains unchanged and that it still has ‘major concerns’ about the volatile instruments. ‘There is no change in RBI’s position (with respect to cryptocurrencies). Our circular explains the point of view very well, ”Das told reporters during the usual post-policy press conference, when asked if his views had changed.
The RBI first came out with a circular on the issue in 2018, warning people about investing in cryptocurrencies, which have no sovereign character. It prevented entities regulated by him from trading such instruments. However, the Supreme Court rejected the circular in early 2020.
Das said a revised notice to financial institutions on Monday was necessary because some banks were still referring to the old circular set aside by the apex court, and it was an attempt to rectify the record. The RBI on Monday asked banks, NBFCs and payment system providers not to refer to the earlier 2018 circular in their communication to customers.
“As for RBI’s position (in terms of cryptocurrencies), I said earlier, we have great concerns about the cryptocurrency that we have transferred to the government,” Das said. Following Monday’s circular, some cryptocurrency trading stakeholders welcomed it more as a justification.
Some of the cryptocurrencies have recently seen a huge drop in their trading prices per unit, leading to the erosion of investor wealth. Some investors considered cryptocurrencies to be an attractive investment class. Das said on Friday that the central bank does not like investment advice, but added that one should do his own assessment and do his own investigation before making such a call.
Source: Telangana Today