Banking Central | Tulips or crypto—who wants to make a quick buck?
As soon as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 30 percent tax on digital assets in her Budget speech on February 1, the crypto industry unleashed a campaign, dubbing the move as an indirect recognition of the instrument by the government.
Some even went a step further to call it a step towards legalising cryptocurrencies whose popularity has been zooming despite operating in a regulatory grey area.
The recent comments from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, should have had a sobering effect on crypto investors.
Talking to the media after sharing the outcome of the monetary policy committee, RBI Governor Shakitkanta Das said, “As far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, the RBI stance is very clear. Private cryptocurrencies are a big threat to our financial and macroeconomic stability."
"They will undermine RBI's ability to deal with issues related to financial stability,” the country’s top banker said in a statement, his first after the government proposed crypto tax in the Budget 2022.
Das is probably the first and only Indian technocrat who has dared to take on the crypto lobby, time and again, to protect investor interest.
The government, on the other hand, has kept its cards close to the chest, simply saying taxing crypto is its sovereign right and without getting into its legal aspects. “Nothing has been done, at the moment to legalise, ban, or de-legalise cryptocurrency in India,” Sitharaman said in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Also read: RBI Monetary Policy | Governor Das’ tulip warning on crypto has a message for government
Muddled track
We have a situation at hand. The government hasn’t decided on the legality of the cryptocurrency except saying it will tax the gains, thereby indirectly
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