Ripple Expects India to Overturn Cryptocurrency Ban with Regulations

Ripple is reportedly ‘unfazed’ by the Indian central bank’s mandate on restricting banks from dealing with cryptocurrencies and expects a new regulatory framework to rescind the ban altogether.

India’s biggest English news daily, the Times of India (TOI), is reporting that crypto and fintech industry giant Ripple is betting on Basel 3 norms (international regulations for the banking sector) and a government panel report on cryptocurrencies leading to a new regulatory framework for the sector in the country.

Ripple, which notably has a presence in the Indian city of Mumbai, also expects the RBI to rescind its current ban forbidding banks and regulated financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency businesses in the country.

India’s central bank admitted to not conducting any research or consultation prior to enforcing its crypto ban in April and a recent report has suggested that a government panel tasked to look into cryptocurrency policy may seek a reversal of the ban.

Citing Ripple’s global head of infrastructure innovation Dilip Rao, Friday’s TOI report suggests that the firm is looking to aid international and domestic remittance of fiat currencies rather than seeking to replace them, a factor that would seemingly make it more favorable among authorities than decentralized state-averse cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

As reported previously, Ripple’s blockchain technology is currently being used by major Indian banks for cross-border remittance in what is the world’s largest remittance receiver with over $70 billion in corporate and retail remittances annually. While these banks use RippleNet, the firm’s enterprise blockchain solution, Ripple also offers xRapid, a blockchain platform for banks powered by its native crypto token XRP.