India Needs ‘Well-Informed’ Discussions On Cryptocurrency In Public Space, Says RBI Governor

New Delhi: With the government formulating a law to regulate private virtual coins, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday that India needs much deeper discussions on the issue of cryptocurrencies.

“When the central bank says that we have serious concerns from the point of view of macroeconomic and financial stability, there are far deeper issues involved,” Das was quoted as saying at the State Bank of India’s Economics Conclave by Bloomberg.

“I’m yet to see serious, well-informed discussions in the public space on these issues,” Das said.

It is being worked out by the finance ministry on legislation to regulate such assets. Following a review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the officials said that the government is contemplating progressive measures but unregulated crypto markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for money laundering and terror financing, the report said.

“Anecdotally, and even otherwise, we have lot of feedback that credit is being provided to open accounts, and various kinds of incentives are being provided,” The RBI chief said.

“The value of transactions and trading has gone up but the number of accounts is exaggerated,” he said, adding that about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the virtual currency accounts have a balance of less than ₹ 2,000 ($27).

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