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India’s Supreme Court Lifts The Cryptocurrency Trading Ban by RBI From 2018

Jordan Lyanchev Mar 4, 2020 07:02

Today, the cryptocurrency community in India received a positive outcome on behalf of the country’s Supreme Court. After years of suppression from the Reserve Bank of India, The Supreme Court officially lifted the ban on trading or operating with digital assets.

The RBI’s crypto ban is Unconstitutional

A local report from earlier today informed the positive outcome coming from the giant Asian country. A three-judge bench led by Rohinton Nariman quashed the 2018 directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In fact, the Supreme Court referred to it as “unconstitutional.”

According to reports, the ban lifting is regarded as a serious progression for numerous businesses, including the banking sector.

Additionally, they believe that India might receive a significant market share for business development. As the cryptocurrency field continues growing, the Asian country could start attracting more companies to open offices on its territory.

India’s History With Cryptocurrencies

The country’s drama with cryptocurrencies has been going on for a while. Back in 2018, the RBI indicated that banks and other regulated financial entities needed to stop operating with individuals or businesses that utilize digital assets. The general assumption was that India’s national bank had inserted a full-scale ban on anything related to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

This led to a severe backlash from some organizations in the country. The largest one came from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) as it filed a petition against RBI’s directive.

The country’s national bank responded recently, as Cryptopotato reported. RBI clarified that it has never banned cryptocurrencies as a whole, only “ringfenced” regulated businesses from dealing with them:

“Firstly, the RBI has not prohibited VCs (virtual currencies) in the country. The RBI has directed the entities regulated by it to not provide services to those persons or entities dealing in or settling VCs. The RBI has been able to ringfence the entities regulated by it from being involved in activities that pose reputational and financial risks along with other legal and operational risks.”

Nevertheless, RBI’s directive from 2018 stopped many entities with trading or dealing with cryptocurrencies. Today’s Supreme Court decision, though, should be a giant step for adoption in the world’s second most populated country.

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Jordan Lyanchev

Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain. Contact Jordan: LinkedIn