Banning Cryptocurrencies Most Advisable Solution: RBI Deputy Governor

New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said on Monday that banning cryptocurrency is perhaps the most advisable choice open to India.

“We have examined the arguments proffered by those advocating that cryptocurrencies should be regulated and found that none of them stands up to basic scrutiny,” ANI quoted Sankar as saying.

Equating cryptocurrencies with ponzi schemes, the deputy governor said: “We have also seen that cryptocurrencies are not amenable to definition as a currency, asset or commodity; they have no underlying cash flows, they have no intrinsic value; that they are akin to ponzi schemes, and may even be worse.”

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said a few days earlier that cryptocurrencies were a threat to macroeconomy and financial stability.

Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated on Monday that discussions on private cryptocurrencies and a central bank-backed digital currency are underway and any decision will be taken after due deliberations, PTI reported.

Sitharaman had announced a 30% tax on cryptocurrency transactions during her Budget speech on February 1, adding that RBI will issue its own digital currency next year.