'Don't Regulate - Ban Crypto Before It Triggers Financial Crisis', Indian Central Bank Head Says

cryptonews.com:

The governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das, suggested that cryptocurrencies should not be regulated - they should be banned altogether, lest they lead to the next financial crisis.

Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit on Wednesday, and asked about the war on crypto in India, Das said that "there is no war or anything like that." 

While different countries have different views on how to deal with crypto, he said,

"Our view is that it should be prohibited because if it is allowed to grow - and if you try to regulate it and allow it to grow - please mark my words, the next financial crisis will come from private cryptocurrencies."

He went on to say that it is the position of the central bank that "private" cryptocurrencies - meaning, those not issued by governments and/or banks - have "huge" inherent risks for the country's microeconomic and financial stability. Das argued that the events in the industry seen this year, specifically naming the fall of the FTX exchange, prove the bank's point. "I don't think we need to say anything more about our stand," he said.

"I think the time has only proved that cryptocurrencies are worth what they are today," Das added, referring to the ongoing market downturn this year.

There is a lot of talk about regulating crypto, said Das, but he argued that somebody is yet to explain how it is to be regulated exactly. 

In regard to this, he listed three points working against crypto and attempting to regulate it:

India is one of an increasing number of countries working on their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). 

Das commented on India's digital rupee journey, saying that some central banks have already started pilot projects, but that in days to come, "more