According to Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum will never be legal money, and only the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital rupee would be.
The Finance Secretary, speaking to ANI, stated, “The digital rupee will be supported by the Reserve Bank of India, which will never default.
The money will be issued by the RBI, but it will be digital in character.
The legal tender will be the RBI-issued digital rupee.
We can use the digital rupee to buy non-digital assets like ice cream or other items using our wallet or through the UPI network.”
“The rest are not legal tender, will not become legal tender, and will never become legal tender.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other image of an actor becoming a non-fiduciary token (NFT) will never become legal tender “Added he.
Crypto assets, according to Somanathan, are assets whose value is determined between two people; you can buy gold, diamonds, and crypto assets, but their value will not be regulated by the government.
People who invest in private cryptocurrency should be aware that it is not backed by the government.
He stated that there is no guarantee that your investments will be profitable or not, that one may lose money, and that the government is not liable for this.
The Finance Secretary explained that just because something isn’t legal doesn’t mean it’s criminal.
“I’m not implying that Bitcoin or Ethereum are illegal, but they’re also not.”
However, I believe that if cryptocurrency is regulated, it will cease to be a legal tender “Somanathan stated.
According to Somanathan, the rule may require KYC and a seller’s license, but the government would decide later after extensive engagement with stakeholders.
He said we’ll also look at what’s going on in other nations.
Somanathan elaborated on the digital rupees, saying that they will not be like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Somanathan went on to say, “You conduct transactions using digital rupee in the same way that you do now with digital wallets such as Paytm and UPI.
The digital rupee is legal tender and can be used to make payments in the same way that we do with cash.”
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