RBI Governor calls for 'deeper, well-informed' discussion on cryptocurrencies

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday reiterated his comments that the central bank has serious concerns about macroeconomic and financial stability due to cryptocurrencies, and called for 'deeper, well-informed' discussions on the issue.
 
Replying to a question on cryptocurrencies after his address at the SBI Banking and Economics Conclave, Das said, "The discussion which is now taking place in the public domain...there is a need for much deeper discussions. When the central bank says that we have serious concerns from the point of view of macroeconomic and financial stability, there are deeper issued involved...I am yet to see serious, well-informed discussion in the public space on these issues."
 
The central bank governor said that the discussions on the issue are more about the blockchain technology and that whether India should adopt it. However, the technology is not new, it is more than 10 years old, Das said.
 
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"The technology can grow and will grow without cryptocurrencies or whatever name you use to describe cryptocurrencies," he added.

Das, however, declined to comment on the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on the issue of cryptocurrencies.

"So at this point I would only like to say that when the Reserve Bank of India, as the central bank of the country which is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining financial stability...when the Reserve Bank after due internal deliberation says that there are serious concern on macroeconomic and financial stability, there are deeper issues involved which need much deeper discussions, much more well-informed discussions," he said.
 
Das also reiterated his comment that the number of cryptocurrency accounts in the country are exaggerated. He said 70-80 per cent of crypto accounts are small accounts with Rs 1,000-2000 balance, even with Rs 500. Besides, he said credit is also being provided to people to open accounts and even other incentives are being offered.
 
"Value of transactions and trading has gone up, but number of accounts is exaggerated, and I stick to that," Das clarified on his last week's comment.

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