NEW DELHI: A day after the parliamentary standing committee on finance called on crypto players to discuss regulations, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday reiterated his tough stance against cryptocurrencies adding that when a central bank of a country cautions about something, there should be serious discussion around it.
“When the central bank, which has been entrusted to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability of the country, says after detailed internal deliberations that we have serious concerns (about cryptocurrencies) ... that there are deeper issues, far deeper issues involved, then there should be serious discussions around it,” Das said at the SBI event, where he was asked to give his views on crypto currency.
“I am yet to see any such serious, well informed discussions,” he said, while lamenting that talks on the issues mostly centred around the fact that it is a new technology and the central bank must embrace or regulate it.
The governor said the blockchain technology is a decade old, and it is here to stay and grow, even without cryptocurrencies.
This comes as the government is warming up towards cryptocurrencies, following strong lobbying for it.
Bitcoin dips 7% on concern over US laws
Bitcoin prices fell by over 7% on Tuesday after the US approved a new bill which has provisions for tough tax laws on trading in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoins fell by $4,400 to $60,700 levels on Tuesday.
Other better known digital currencies like Ethereum fell by 8% and Doge by 7% as well.
Apart from the US bill, China’s stern warning to firms involved in Bitcoin mining has also contributed to the fall of digital currencies.
China has asked its state-owned firms to stop mining Bitcoins as it wants to reduce its carbon footprint.