Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said Thursday that private cryptocurrencies “is a big threat to our macroeconomic stability and financial stability.”
Das added that cryptocurrency investors should keep in mind that cryptocurrencies have no underlying value – not even a tulip.”
The governor’s remarks come a week after the country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a 30% tax on crypto income with no exemptions or deductions.
Under the new legislation, investors filing tax returns will not be able to prove losses due to price drops or theft in order to offset the tax on their profits.
India’s CBDC plans
Sitharaman also announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch a blockchain-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the next fiscal year, which will take the form of a digital rupee.
On Thursday, the RBI reiterated its commitment to the digital rupee but did not provide further details on when the launch will take place.
“We are moving forward with CBDCs after looking at them carefully and cautiously because there are risks,” he said. “The biggest risk is cybersecurity and the possibility of counterfeiting. We should avoid that at all costs.”
In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a ban on banks dealing in cryptocurrencies. It was overturned by the Supreme Court in March this year, but the RBI insisted it still has major concerns about cryptocurrencies.
The has long taken a skeptical stance on cryptocurrencies, calling them a “major” concern in 2021 that could impact the country’s financial stability.
Source: Decrypt
