RBI in Constant Engagement with Government on Cryptocurrency, Says Shaktikanta Das

RBI MPC: The Reserve Bank of India on June 8, Wednesday, held a press conference after announcing its decisions taken at the Monetary Policy Committee meet that ended on the day after three days of deliberations. During the press conference, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that there was constant engagement between government and RBI on cryptocurrencies.

When asked if there has been any further dialogues between the government and the RBI regarding the consultation paper which is set to come out soon, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank is constantly engaging with the government on the issue. “I can say that on all issues there is constant engagement between the government and the Reserve Bank, including the cryptocurrency issues. We have given our views to the government. Let’s wait for the discussion paper,” said Das.

Earlier on May 31 this year, economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said that the finance ministry has almost completed its work on preparing the consultation paper on cryptocurrencies, and will submit the same soon. “The consultation paper is fairly ready. We have gone through a deep dive and consulted not just domestic stakeholders but also multilateral institutions like IMF and World Bank. We hope we’ll soon be in a position to finalise and submit it,” said Seth while speaking at an event.

Seth has also said that India is consulting with other countries across the world regarding global regulations on cryptocurrencies, and India’s role if such actions are taken. He had told the press that there is a need to reach a consensus globally on cryptocurrencies and India would look at the regulations imposed in other countries first, before taking an decisions of the sort.

In an interview with CNBC TV18 on May 23, days after announcing an off cycle repo rate hike, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said that the central bank had for long been cautioning against cryptocurrency, and it has now crashed. At the point, the global cryptocurrency market had taken a huge hit, from which it is yet to recover.

“We have been cautioning against crypto and look at what has happened to the crypto market now. Had we been regulating it already, then people would have raised questions about what happened to regulations,” Das told CNBC TV18 in an exclusive interview. “This is something whose underlying (value) is nothing. There are big questions on how do you regulate it. Our position remains very clear, it will seriously undermine the monetary, financial and macroeconomic stability of India,” the RBI Governor added.

Shaktikanta Das also said that he believes that that the Centre seems to be in sync with the central bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies that they have no underlying value. “We have conveyed our position to the government and they will take a considered call. I think the utterances and statements coming out from the government are more or less in sync. They are also equally concerned,” Das had said at the time.

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