NDTV India reported that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told financial organizations not to deal with or provide their services to businesses or individuals that handle cryptocurrencies.
RBI also told financial organizations that are already providing their services to businesses or individuals that handle cryptocurrencies to end their relationships within next 3 months.
RBI announced that this action is taken because there have been growing concerns towards cryptocurrency from aspects of protection of consumers, market integration, and money laundering.
However, RBI started researching into ways of central banks issuing digital currencies and announced that it will submit research reports until end of June.
“We know that distributed ledger or blockchain technology that is a foundation of cryptocurrency provides an advantage for effectiveness and receptivity of financial systems.” said Vice-President B P Kanungo of RBI. “These technologies should be utilized for economies.”
Indian Government has been actively regulating cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as it does not see cryptocurrency as legal currency.
India’s Income Tax Department visited offices of 9 Bitcoin exchanges in New Delhi and others in December of last year and secured electronic data such as bank accounts of investors and traders and sent out tax notices in February to 100,000 people who invested into digital money and did not report income taxes.
Staff Reporter Park, Yoonho | yuno@etnews.com