Nothing Bans Crypto In India If Legal Procedures Are Followed, Says Government Official CryptoBlog

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An Indian government official said there is currently nothing banning crypto in India “as long as you follow the legal process”. Meanwhile, the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has stressed that “cryptocurrency has no underlying value.”

Indian Government Official on Crypto

Indian government official Rajeev Chandrasekhar spoke about cryptocurrency on Thursday at an event in Bengaluru. Chandrasekhar is currently India’s Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Minister of State for Skills Development and Entrepreneurship. He is also a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.

He explained that India has no problem with cryptocurrencies if all laws are followed, Reuters reported, quoting him as saying:

There is nothing today that prohibits cryptography as long as you follow the legal process.

The Indian government has yet to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. In December last year, the government told parliament that crypto legislation “can only be effective with significant international collaboration”. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that the government plans to discuss crypto regulation with G20 countries.

However, crypto income is already taxed at 30% in India, and a 1% withholding tax (TDS) is levied on crypto transactions. Earlier this month, the government revealed that it was launching a crypto awareness campaign.

Meanwhile, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said last week that “cryptocurrency has no underlying value”, warning that “it will undermine the authority of the RBI and lead to the dollarization of the economy”. He even expects crypto to cause the next financial crisis if it is not banned.

What do you think of Indian government official Chandrasekhar’s statement? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

An economics student from Austria, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests include Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

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