RBI governor Shaktikanta Das during an event according to PTI has stated his distrust in cryptocurrencies, calling them a threat to any financial system, at least till they are regulated. The comment comes amid reports suggesting that the government is planning to regulate digital currencies through a bill, which is expected to be tabled during the upcoming Budget.
Das during the event stated that cryptocurrencies are serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country. Apart from that, he also raised questions against the number of investors trading on them as well as their claimed market value. Note, the comments come ahead of RBI‘s internal panel report on cryptocurrencies, which is expected to be released next month.
The government is reportedly actively looking at cryptocurrencies and their impact on macroeconomics and financial stability. It is expected to soon render a verdict on it.
Apart from his concerns about cryptocurrencies, Das has also questioned the actual number of crypto investors in the country. This comes as a response to a recent report claiming that more than 10 crores Indians own cryptocurrencies. Multiple homegrown crypto platforms have claimed that the report could be wrong and the number is not higher than 2 crores.
“I am not sure about the veracity of these numbers. Of course, my view may not be fully right as we don’t get full information about these currencies as they aren’t regulated by us or by any other central bank. But I still think the number of investors look clearly exaggerated as bulk of them, say over 70 per cent, have invested only about Rs 1,000 each in cryptocurrencies,” Das said.
To recall, RBI had earlier expressed its intent to introduce an official digital currency for India. Back then it was stated that there is a committee that has been working on this and ironing out the kinks of the model.
