There is no Bitcoin trading ban in India
Contrary to some earlier reports, there is no Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency ban in India, at least not yet.
The other day a few news stories came out saying that India would be banning cryptocurrencies.
Ones like this one:
However, if you really read in to exactly what is being done here, you can see that it isn't an outright ban of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at all.
What is it then?
It more has to do with separating local regulated banks from the crypto industry.
The wording being more along the lines of this:
The RBI has announced that they will be ending the relationship between its own banks and any user or corporation dealing with cryptocurrencies.
More can be found here:
https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/04/07/no-india-not-banned-bitcoin-trading-government-confirms/
That sounds like a ban on first glance, but it just means that regulated banks can no longer be involved in the space.
For the banks that are currently servicing cryptocurrency companies/exchanges, a big deadline looms ahead.
The RBI has given them 3 months to exit the space or they will no longer be considered a partner of the RBI.
That may not seem like great news, and it's not, but it definitely does not mean crypto is banned in the region.
Not great news, but not the end of the world.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if some of these banks cease their support of crypto related companies, these companies can always look outside of the country for support.
Exchanges, for example, could always look outside India for banking partners.
It's not entirely clear how many exchanges will be affected by the RBIs newest stance, but it certainly is not as bad as some news outlets made it sound.
At least not yet.
What happens going forward is anyone's guess in regards to future regulations, but it will certainly be worth keeping an eye on over the next 3 months to see how many banks ultimately exit the cryptocurrency space.
But as of now, bitcoin trading has not been banned in India, despite what some headlines may have you believe.
Stay informed my friends.
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Follow me: @jrcornel
Just to clarify. RBI has banned all of its regulated entities which is nearly all of the banks in the country from rendering services to entities dealing with cryptocurrencies. This implies crypto-exchanges in the country cannot provide purchase/sale services of any digital currency against INR currency pair within India. There are very few autonomous banks that don't come under the purview of RBI but these cannot render services at scale and ergo useless for the purposes of trading cryptocurrencies.
Indian Exchanges can however continue trading crypto pairs but that's useless if people cannot enter into the markets with money or exit their positions for INR. If these exchanges move abroad they are still unable to render any Crypto/INR pair to any Indian citizen as these transactions would then be illegal under other govt policies already in place.
The government however hasn't banned cryptocurrency or trading in cryptos itself but RBIs ruling prevents most of the speculators from entering/exiting the market through legal channel-aka Indian exchanges. This will result in OTC trades which I think is fine too but the price won't be good anymore and the volumes maybe very low.
Maybe my post will clear things up a bit more if anyone is interested to learn more.
upvoting for visibility.
Thanks for the added clarity on what is going on!
Yup we will have options like selling cryptos to payeer etc and then get the resulting fiat in our accounts. Or trust people, send them cryptos and ask them to send payment via Paypal. Things like that. But these things might be risky and certainly very costly.
Beside OTC trades, emergence of peer to peer exchanges like InstaShift during these times is a boon to crypto enthusiasts in India. Now the question is how long Government will allow OTC or peer to peer trades; as such trades bring in zero revenues to the Government coffers?
I think the advisory by Pakistan Government which followed the Indian announcement for restriction is much more stringent.
Heading over to your post now to get the exact scenario and your views on it 😊
Thank you for posting @jrcornel.
Appreciate the detailed analysis.
It does make sense to separate them.
All the best.
Thanks for sharing! I think the concern is it could be banned in India...
It's funny how the mainstream media can brainwash the herd like a hypnotist
lets see what will be happen in 3 months but now price better than before
thanks for the information
Hey @jrcornel,
I think it is not so bad news for those Indians who are, here on Steemit, just for blogging. Money is just an incentive which is driving those people to post good content and frequently on Steemit. Those who have the passion for writing will never leave Steemit for this reason.
On the top it, if they continue to write it will only increase their crypto wallet which they can cash out in future whenever it is possible. Just treat it as your saving account and continue to post good blogs.
Good luck!
Hello, @jrcornel since there is no option left for us to get INR/crypto relationship as we can't buy or sell crypto directly for our Fiat.
It's a ban! They are serious this time!
Maybe Exchanges use a bank from other countries to transfer the fiat.
BUT we won't be able to buy cryptocurrencies in India.
All the more reason to earn from steemit if we want to expand our crypto portfolio.
Yes the ban is on. Why r u writing false news.
Isn't this the second time they have announced a fake ban on crypto?