RBI Deputy Governor calls for outright cryptocurrency ban

Mumbai: Close on the heels of RBI governor Shaktikanta Das stating that cryptocurrency is a big threat to macroeconomic stability, deputy governor T. Rabi Sankar on Monday said these have specifically been developed to bypass the regulated financial system and called for an outright ban on such instruments.

Addressing the Indian Banks Association, Sankar said banning cryptocurrency is "perhaps the most advisable choice open to India."

"We have examined the arguments proffered by those advocating that cryptocurrencies should be regulated and found that none of them stand up to basic scrutiny.

"We have seen that crypto-technology is underpinned by a philosophy to evade government controls. Cryptocurrencies have specifically been developed to bypass the regulated financial system," said Sankar.

"We have also seen that cryptocurrencies are not amenable to definition as a currency, asset or commodity; they have no underlying cash flows, they have no intrinsic value; that they are akin to ponzi schemes, and may even be worse," he added.