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The Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are working in “complete harmony” and any decision on cryptocurrency will be made jointly, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press conference on Monday.
Fast facts
- Discussions on crypto have been ongoing between the government and the RBI — India’s central bank — even before Sitharaman’s budget speech on Feb. 1, the minister said.
- RBI governor Shaktikanta Das was also at the press conference.
- Das last week said cryptocurrencies have no underlying value and that they are “not even a tulip,” raising doubts about whether or not India’s central bank was working in tandem with the government, considering the RBI was already given the task of introducing India’s own digital currency.
- While Sitharaman has previously stated that India will be moving toward regulation over a ban, the RBI has leaned towards restricting crypto in the local market.
- India’s FM on Feb. 1 announced a 30% taxation on income from crypto, thereby sending out hopes of crypto regulation.
- However, Union minister Bhagwat Karad said on Saturday that cryptocurrencies are not legal in India and that their future is uncertain at the moment.