RBI cites investor protection to justify cryptocurrency ban in India

When the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) three-month deadline given to banks for severing their ties with digital currencies looms closer, some cryptocurrency exchanges have packed their bags to shift the base abroad, so as to evade the regulatory crackdown. It is worth mentioning that the RBI, on April 6, banned the commercial banks from having business relations with the entities that deal in virtual currencies. They were instructed to end the relations (if any) within three months that will lapse on July 5. Read the RBI order here. The order was touted as the end of virtual currencies in India.

Investor protection is an important consideration behind banning trade in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ripple in India, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a two-page response to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) last week
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The RBI’s response came almost a week after the Supreme Court of India heard a writ petition challenging the central bank’s decision to cut the banking system’s ties with cryptocurrency exchanges. In its order by a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, the Supreme Court had asked the central bank ..