Reserve Bank of India Officials Warn About the Dangers of Crypto on the Economy

As crypto adoption continues to grow globally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned that cryptocurrencies have the potential to dollarize sections of the Indian economy, according to a report from PTI on Monday.

The report detailed that top RBI officials, including Governor Shaktikanta Das, “clearly expressed their apprehensions about cryptocurrencies” at a briefing with the nation’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

The parliamentary committee, led by former Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, recently quizzed The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on several crypto-related topics.

At the briefing, the RBI officials argued that cryptocurrency poses a significant threat to the stability of India’s financial system, noting:

“It will seriously undermine the RBI’s capacity to determine monetary policy and regulate the monetary system of the country.”

The top RBI officials also asserted that cryptos are heavily used in illegal activities, like money laundering, terrorism financing, and drug trafficking.

Reserve Bank of India Officials Believe Crypto Could Replace Rupee in Payments Settlements

They cautioned that crypto could also replace the rupee (INR) in local and cross-border payment settlements. The RBI official explained: “Almost all cryptocurrencies are dollar-denominated and issued by foreign private entities. It may eventually lead to dollarization of a part of our economy which will be against the country’s sovereign interest.”

They further argued that cryptocurrency would likely affect the banking system negatively, as it disrupts financial norms. The official explained that cryptos are becoming significantly appealing to more and more people, causing them to invest their savings in crypto and leaving the banks with fewer resources to lend.

Estimates place that India has between 15 to 20 million crypto investors, with over $5.3 billion invested in the sector.

That said, the Indian government is working assiduously to create a crypto policy to regulate the local industry. Already, the country has placed a 30% tax on all crypto investments, profitable or not. By July, a 1% tax to be deducted at the source (TDS) will go into effect in the Indian crypto industry.