India has been a surprise entrant in the cryptocurrency field with the South East Asian region witnessing monthly updates. India’s general stance on digital assets has been negative, but this has recently changed since the Supreme Court overturned the crypto ban that has been in effect since 2018.
In response, the Reserve Bank of India decided to seek a review of the court’s directives because it was worried that crypto would put the current banking model at risk.
RBI functions as India’s banking principal and has been a staunch believer that cryptocurrencies will pave the way for a variety of malicious activities. Several supporters of the cryptocurrency group expected that the RBI will respond to the decision of the apex court as soon as possible.
According to RBI, a cryptocurrency financial environment would challenge the functioning of the fiat world and all people connected with it. Companies that had relocated from India to other countries were preparing to return if the laws were laxer. RBI’s intervention would threaten the increased flow of capital and resources. If the Supreme Court maintains its decisions then that would mean that banks could even possibly allow customers to link bank accounts to cryptocurrency accounts.
Sidharth Sogani, the founder and CEO of Crebaco Global Inc. stated:
“In a way, the verdict upholds the legality of cryptocurrencies and decriminalises the investors who have already invested in various crypto assets like bitcoin, ether, and various others. Cryptocurrency exchanges in India can now legally operate for fiat-to-crypto trading pairs as well, in addition to crypto-to-crypto pairs. It remains to be seen how soon the banks will start supporting the exchanges.”
Several lawyers have said that the SC may look at the RBI’s review petitions but as it stands, cryptocurrency exchanges can operate in India. There are also rumors that companies that went bankrupt after the original decisions, may come back to settle their scores.
RBI is not the only body that has the bone to pick up on the crypto industry, as the Income Tax Department had previously issued notices to 500,000 investors. Such investors were asked if they paid value-added taxes following a price increase.
Cryptocurrency platforms were also asked to clarify whether cryptocurrency was being handled as a source of goods. When they did not, they were asked about the taxes charged on products and services.
Discussions about cryptocurrencies in the country have definitely taken a turn, but this time around for the better. Investors and proponents were now eagerly waiting to see what the Supreme Court’s response will be.
