Crypto Threatens Financial Stability, Has No Underlying Value: RBI Governor

Asked about the Digital Rupee, Das said that the RBI was moving carefully and cautiously.

On Thursday, after announcing the monetary policy rates, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, said that cryptocurrencies are a big threat to the financial and macroeconomic stability of India.

“As far as cryptocurrencies is concerned, the RBI stance is very clear. Private cryptocurrencies are a big threat to our financial and macroeconomic stability. They will undermine RBI’s ability to deal with issues related to financial stability."

Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor

"I think it is my duty to tell investors that when they are investing in cryptocurrencies, they should keep in mind that they are investing at their own risk. They should keep in mind that these cryptocurrencies have no underlying (value). Not even a tulip."

RBI Moving Cautiously on Digital Rupee

Asked about the central bank digital currency (CBDC), that is, Digital Rupee, Das said that the RBI was moving carefully and cautiously.

“We can’t give a timeline on CBDC. But what I can say is that whatever we are doing, we are doing it very carefully and cautiously. We have to keep risks like cyber-security and counterfeiting in mind. So we are proceeding cautiously and can’t give a timeline.”

Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier announced that any income from the transfer of 'virtual digital assets' would be taxed at 30 percent. She had also announced that RBI was working on a digital currency.

This tax regime will effectively apply to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).