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India’s Retail Behemoth Set To Add CBDC Support

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India’s major retail chain Reliance Retail is set to roll out in-store support for the digital rupee. The move would scale up the adoption of the govt and RBI-approved e-currency.

Reliance Retail, a division of the Indian conglomerate Reliance, announced that it has begun implementing CBDC support at its Freshpik gourmet shop line and would gradually release the functionality to all of its sites.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm announced a partnership with fintech Innoviti Technologies, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank to introduce in-store support for the digital rupee.

In the media statement, the retail behemoth announced that customers who seek to pay using the nation’s CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency], known as e-R, will be provided a dynamic digital rupee acceptance QR code to scan at the store. V Subramaniam, Director stated,

This historic initiative of pioneering digital currency acceptance at our stores is in line with the company’s strategic vision of offering the power of choice to Indian consumers. With more citizens willing to transact digitally, this initiative will help us provide yet another efficient and secure alternative payment method to customers at our stores.

It needs to recall that the nation’s central bank began e₹-R’s pilot testing last December for retail markets across select Indian cities.

According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India aims to reduce the amount of cash used in the economy, make international payments more affordable and seamless, and shield users from the volatility of private cryptocurrencies by implementing e-R.

Based on the test results of the ongoing pilot, the central bank plans to experiment with additional features and applications of the digital rupee.

However, neither cryptocurrency nor blockchain technologies found any place in India‘s union budget for 2023, which dashed the aspirations of the nation’s millions of crypto holders.

No Place For Crypto In India’s 2023 Budget

Many members of the Indian crypto community hoped that the hefty crypto tax, which went into effect in March 2022, would be somewhat reduced.

On February 1, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant modifications to the income tax bands in the government budget. Still, the minister did not bring up blockchain technology, digital currency issued by central banks, or cryptocurrency during the debate.

The booming crypto industry was abruptly put out of business last year when the Indian govt. imposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrency income and a 1% tax deducted at source [TDS] on all cryptocurrency transactions.

India To Test CBDC From Dec 1 In These Four Key Cities

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India would carry out the pilot testing of its digital currency e₹-R  from December 1st, 2022 across four cities namely Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar, according to the press release shared by the Reserve Bank of India.

The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users, and locations as needed, according to the P.A.

Eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot. The first phase will begin with four banks, namely State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank in the four mentioned cities.

The remaining others would join this pilot subsequently, the apex bank stated.

The pilot would cover select locations in closed user groups [CUG] comprising participating customers and merchants. Through a digital wallet provided by the collaborating banks and kept on users’ mobile phones or devices, users would be able to conduct transactions with e₹-R.

“Transactions can be both Person to Person [P2P]and Person Merchant [P2M)] Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations.”

Like cash, the digital token will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks, per the blog.

As reported by TronWeekly, India’s central bank launched the pilot program for its virtual currency, allowing a select group of banks to settle secondary-market trades in government securities.

India’s RBI Continue Its Hard Stance Towards Cryptocurrency

India has been developing its CBDC plans for a while. Across the country, opinions on cryptocurrency are divided. The Reserve Bank of India has adopted an aggressive stance that ranged from a total prohibition on digital assets to imposing the draconian 30% tax and 1% TDS.

On CBDC, RBI previously stated in a concept note that it “will provide the users the same experience of dealing in currency in digital form, without any risks associated with private cryptocurrencies.”

Retail CBDC will initially be made available as a stand-alone product once it is deployed. However, consumers may be prompted to download an application or digital wallet that contains the e-rupee once the new currency is subsequently integrated with current online banking services.

The top bank urged customers to request specific denominations of e-rupees from their bank, which can then be put into each one of their individual CBDC wallets.

India’s Reserve Bank Begins its CBDC Pilot Program

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On Tuesday, India’s central bank launched a pilot program for its virtual currency, allowing a select group of banks to settle secondary-market trades in government securities.

Data from Clearing Corp. of India Ltd. shows that 7.38% of the 2027 debt and 7.26% of the 2032 bonds were among the first to be traded using the new form of money. Nine banks are taking part in the trial. Within a month, the Reserve Bank of India plans to test the e-rupee for retail use in a few key locations.

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India’s CBDC rollout comes a day after Singapore

A day after Singapore’s monetary authority announced trials of a digital version of its local dollar, the limited roll-out was announced.

The central banks of China, the euro area, the Bahamas, and other nations have been experimenting in this area while numerous others are searching for ways to deal with the threat that private digital currencies portray to financial stability.

The RBI previously stated in a concept note that it “will provide the users the same experience of dealing in currency in digital form, without any risks associated with private cryptocurrencies.”

While offering the advantages of virtual currencies, central bank digital currencies will also guarantee consumer protection “by avoiding the detrimental social and economic consequences of private virtual currencies.”

Among the banks participating in the pilot are the Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and the Indian division of HSBC Holdings Plc.

India has long been formulating its CBDC plans. The nation’s feelings toward cryptocurrencies are mixed. A complete ban on digital assets is what the Reserve Bank of India wants. On the other hand, the country levies a 30% tax and 1% TDS on cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain technology has been warmly welcomed and adopted by a number of government agencies, despite the fact that the country is not particularly accepting of cryptocurrencies. After years of study, the RBI released a CBDC concept on October 7, 2022.

Now that the country has rolled out its CBDC pilot, its stance on crypto is envisioned to be changed in the near future.

WazirX: India’s ED Unfreezes Crypto Exchange’s Bank Account

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WazirX brings some good news to its users. After more than a month, India’s financial crime-fighting agency announced on Monday that WazirX’s bank accounts had been unfrozen. The exchange is connected to Binance, the largest digital currency exchange in the world.

The company was under investigation by the federal Enforcement Directorate (ED) last year for alleged violations of foreign exchange laws, and its assets worth $8.16 million worth of rupees were frozen. View More

The exchange claimed that it is now able to carry on with regular banking operations.

“After an in-depth internal investigation, WazirX noticed that most of the users whose information was sought by ED were already identified as suspicious by WazirX internally and were blocked in 2020-2021.”

The exchange stated in a blog.

WazirX stated that it cooperated with the investigators

According to the exchange, it has worked with the investigators by giving them all the pertinent facts, information, and documentation regarding the alleged accused businesses that used its platform.

Changpeng Zhao, the chief executive of Binance, revealed last month that the purchase of WazirX, which was announced in 2019, was never finalized. But CEO Nischal Shetty was of the opinion that the deal was completed.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presided over a meeting on September 8 about the apps, which also witnessed participation by the Deputy Governor of RBI, and brought the “illegal loan apps” scam with connections to China into the public eye.

The ED raided the exchange’s director Sameer Mhatre’s properties on August 5 for reportedly assisting “approximately 16 accused industry players in laundering the criminal proceeds using the crypto route,” freezing $8.1 million in assets held by the exchange.

BitConnect Founder Under Investigation by Indian Police Following Indictment in the US

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BitConnect founder seems to be in trouble. Indian authorities are currently looking into Satish Kumbhani, the creator of the bitcoin investment website BitConnect, for the multi-million dollar fraud.

According to reports, Kondhwa Budruk, a lawyer from Pune, reported the incident to the cybercrime police on August 16.

As per the initial information report (FIR), the lawyer allegedly lost close to 220 bitcoins, which are roughly worth $5.14 million on the open market. Kumbhani (36) and six other people have been named by the attorney. According to the report, no arrests have reportedly been made thus far.

Fugitive BitConnect Founder Kumbhani Indicted in US Website
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BitConnect founder was earlier charged with Ponzi scheme allegations

The BitConnect founder was charged by a federal jury in San Diego earlier in February on charges of running a Ponzi scheme. According to this, the founder was discovered to have stolen up to $2.4 billion from later investors by using their money to pay off early investors.

The FIR claims that the complainant in this instance was defrauded of both his initial investment of 54 bitcoins and the returns of 166 bitcoins, which he was reportedly compelled to reinvest in the sites between 2016 and June 2021. Kumbhani and his friends reportedly defrauded investors in a virtual currency scheme, according to senior police inspector DS Hake.

The report was released a few days after Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister, expressed new worries about investing in virtual assets. “The government has issued an alert. Sitharaman cautioned the general public and startup business owners, “I think all of us will have to express our ideas and act with a little caution on this.

Her remarks also follow an ongoing investigation in which the Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze the bank account of one of the directors of Zanmai Lab Private Ltd, the company that runs the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, and blocked bank assets worth approximately $46 million that belonged to the troubled crypto exchange Vauld.

India Might Add 28% To Its Existing Crypto Tax

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People with knowledge of the situation indicated that an Indian cabinet panel will meet next week to talk about imposing a goods and services tax on cryptocurrency transactions.

The council, made up of the finance ministers of the federal government and the states, is looking to expand the tax net in order to more effectively track transactions involving virtual digital assets, according to the people, who declined to be named due to restrictions on speaking with the media. Beginning on June 28, the panel will convene for two days in Chandigarh, in northern India.

The individuals added that although conversations may be done about including it in the highest tax bracket of 28 percent, the panel is unlikely to decide on a rate in the forthcoming meeting.

India thinks a hefty 30% tax is not enough

In an effort to gauge the extent of the local cryptocurrency market and keep track of users, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman levied a 30 percent tax on revenue from the transfer of virtual assets and a 1 percent source tax on all cryptocurrency transactions earlier this year. The action was perceived as resolving doubt over the legality of cryptocurrency transactions.

Due to the ambiguity around whether digital currencies should be treated as products or services and the absence of a legal framework, there is still uncertainty over the implementation of a sales tax on them.

We previously reported that the federal government is already working on legislation to either regulate or strengthen regulations. However, it is envisaged that this would only happen until a worldwide agreement on the regulation of such assets emerges.

As global central banks have started to raise interest rates to rein in growing inflation, digital currencies and other risky assets have been under attack all year. This year, Bitcoin has decreased by almost 50%, while Ether has decreased by 70%

Turkish Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitay Marks Its Entry Into The Indian Market

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Bitay a Turkish Cryptocurrency Exchange is set to enter the Indian market to tap the rapid usage of Cryptocurrency in the country.
According to Bitay, it is going to comply with India’s proposed Cryptocurrency tax guidelines. The exchange with its wide range of customer base of approximately 1 million worldwide has also set up an office in Gurgaon, India.
As per sources, the exchange plans to reach out to the population between the ages of 21 and 35 in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, Indore, Patna, Lucknow, and Jaipur.
Speaking on the new development, Niyazi Yilmaz, the CEO of the exchange, stated,

“The company embraces and welcomes the decision of the Govt of India of laying a 30 percent tax on Cryptocurrency profits and 1 percent TDS beginning in July”.


Yilmaz added that through their initiatives, they are going to attract Indian merchants and investors. Early users shall also receive an Airdrop after they have completed their KYC on the exchange platform.
In addition to this, Yilmaz also pointed out its goal to reach out to the millennial generation, which constitutes 30 percent of the population and generates 38 percent of the total gross income.

Bitay says “Namaste India!”


A few days back, the firm tweeted on its official handle “Namaste India. Our localization starts with India.”
Besides India, the trading platform also plans to expand into other nations such as England, the United States, the Netherlands, and Estonia. It claims to have licenses in 12 states in the US.
Not limited to cryptocurrency and trading activities, Bitay has also extended its operations into other initiatives and products namely Game, Bitay Academy, Bitay NFT Platform, and Bitay Visa Card.
This Cryptocurrency exchange based in Istanbul Turkey further claims to keep customer assets in cold storage such as hardware wallets rather than paper wallets and PCs without internet access.

India’s Two Crypto Experts Busted for Looting Crypto

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Two crypto experts of India were apprehended by the Pune Police’s Cyber Crime Cell, who allegedly drained wallets that were supposedly under investigation by the police.

According to local media sources, Pankaj Ghode and Ravindranath Patil, two alleged cyber-crime professionals, may have siphoned off substantial sums of cryptocurrency from a Bitcoin Ponzi scam that took place in 2018.

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India’s crypto experts stole from the loot

Since last year, the two specialists, one of whom was a former Indian Police Service officer, have reportedly been supporting the Pune police’s Special Inquiry Team (SIT) in the investigation.

According to the report, the crew seized 241.46 bitcoins, 452 bitcoin cash, and 94 Ethereum. However, they are now suspected of moving millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from the accused’s wallets to personal accounts. According to the study, 237 bitcoins from the funds have been traced so far.

As part of their investigation into an alleged 900 bitcoin difference, the police have reportedly recovered approximately $770,000 in 34 different cryptocurrencies. The former officials, meanwhile, will be tried for a variety of violations and are currently in judicial custody. In addition, the alleged crypto specialists have been charged with a 4,400-page charge sheet.

India and its stance on crypto

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently provided an update on the condition of crypto regulation in India to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

“Because crypto assets are kept in decentralized distributed ledgers, which are nested in computer nodes all over the world,” the agency wrote, “there is a high risk of illicit exchanges not in accordance with any regulatory framework.”

In the past, SEBI has advised celebrities to avoid advocating crypto assets in order to protect investors.

The watchdog emphasized more controls this time, saying, “A digital currency operates as a bridge between the fiat currency of the foreign jurisdiction and the Indian rupee.”

“One goal of bringing crypto trading platforms under regulatory scrutiny could be to offer AML/CFT/KYC reporting; this can be accomplished by registering the companies as money changers, authorized dealers, or FX dealers,” according to the research.

Meanwhile, the central bank is waiting for the government to disclose its crypto consultation paper, which it has been critical of since its inception.

RBI Says That India’s CBDC Will Go Hand in Hand With the Monetary Policies

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The debut of India’s Digital Rupee CBDC, which is slated to take place in the current fiscal year 2022-23, is highly anticipated by the investors of the country.

According to a report produced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the CBDC will be in line with the country’s current monetary policies and payment systems.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will have responsibility for the Digital Rupee, intends to use a graded approach in line with the country’s financial system.

A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a central bank-regulated blockchain-based payment mechanism. While it functions similarly to a traditional cryptocurrency in that it allows for quick, high-value digital payments, CBDC transactions are traceable and overseen by the government.

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Will India’s CBDC improve the government’s stance on crypto?

“The Reserve Bank proposes to adopt a graded approach to introduction of CBDC, going step by step through stages of Proof of Concept, pilots and the launch. The design of CBDC needs to be in conformity with the stated objectives of monetary policy, financial stability and efficient operations of currency and payment systems.”

RBI highlighted in the report

The news comes after a top RBI official was quoted as saying that the CBDC would be implemented separately for the wholesale and retail sectors.

The country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stated on multiple occasions that the Digital Rupee will expand payment choices for Indians.

The Indian government is also counting on the CBDC to expand its efforts to bring financial inclusion to people who have yet to access the country’s banking networks. The creation and roll-out of the Digital Rupee are underway, and the Indian government does not want to expedite the process.

RBI Governor T Rabi Sankar remarked in April that the launch of India’s first digital currency would require a sophisticated and calibrated approach because it would have multiple consequences for the economy and monetary policy.

Several other countries, including the United States, Russia, China, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Mexico, are working on their own CBDCs.

India Is Eyeing to Impose GST on Foreign Crypto Exchanges

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India is considering imposing a “reverse charge” on virtual digital asset investments made through foreign platforms.

A reverse charge is a tax owed by the recipient of goods or services rather than the supplier.

The burden of goods and services taxation (GST) will rest on an Indian investor who purchases services from a domestically unregistered crypto exchange.

“If a crypto exchange is situated in India and is not subject to GST, then the receiver will be obligated to pay GST on a reverse charge basis,” a source told Business Today TV.

According to reports, depending on commissions gained through crypto transactions, the percentage of this reverse charge maybe 18 percent.

India might blow up the crypto growth in the country

India is considering expanding the scope of its goods and services tax (GST) to include cryptocurrency. While the judgment is expected this month at the GST council, investors have already been paying 30% tax on cryptocurrency earnings since April 1.

“[The government] is unlikely to tax crypto on the overall value of the transaction, per se,” the source added to Business Today. The conversations are at a point where more thought is required.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recently that bitcoin could lead to “dollarization.”

The problem with using foreign currency in any economy, according to Jaijit Bhattacharya, president of the Centre for Digital Economic Policy Research, is that the central bank lacks authority over the currency when using monetary policy tools.

Meanwhile, the RBI’s tough position on cryptocurrency continues to cause investors legal concerns.

Despite such worries, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Bajaj stated in another interview that the business should be controlled rather than outlawed. The Indian government is actively developing a cryptocurrency policy. However, crypto earnings are already subject to a 30% tax rate. On July 1, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) will be imposed on cryptocurrency transactions.