Crypto currencies recover, back in the green on Indian exchanges

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More than 24-hours after a blood bath and almost a fourth of its value wiped out on the exchanges, cryptocurrencies are back in the game. Top tokens have recovered nearly 10 per cent or more from yesterday’s plunge of 15-20 per cent.

As of 1:30 pm, bitcoin was trading in green, up by 5.03 per cent. USDT or Tether’s price jumped by 3.68 per cent, Shiba Inu by 4.83 per cent and Ethereum by 3.32 per cent. Sandbox topped this list on WazirX which was up by 23.76 per cent.

Also read: Only a handful of cryptocurrencies that exist today likely to survive: Raghuram Rajan

The massive cryptocurrency crash on Indian exchanges on Wednesday was a result of a Lok Sabha notice released on Tuesday evening summarising bills to be discussed in the upcoming winter parliamentary session.

The description next to The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 read that the government was seeking to prohibit private cryptocurrencies while allowing certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology. This created confusion and unexpected panic sale among investors leading to temporary crashing of several exchange platforms.

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Only a handful of cryptocurrencies that exist today likely to survive: Raghuram Rajan

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Out of the 6,000-odd cryptocurrencies currently in existence, only a few are likely to survive, according to the former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Rajan, in a recent interview with CNBC TV-18 said that only one or two, or at most, only a handful of the cryptocurrencies that exist today would survive in the future.

“If things have value only because they will be pricier down the line, that’s a bubble,” Rajan said.

The former RBI governor compared the current mania in cryptocurrencies to the tulip mania in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

Also Read: Explainer: Digital currency vs cryptos – how are they different?

He added that the issue was that most cryptocurrencies did not have permanent value. Additionally, some of them would survive to facilitate payments, especially cross border payments.

“In the US, crypto is a $2.5 trillion problem that nobody really wants to regulate,” he said.

According to Rajan, part of the problem was the lack of understanding of the space and how to regulate it, among regulators.

He added that the government can examine these crypto entities more closely when they get too big to make sure that there isn’t fraud.

Rajan’s remark come as the bill to ban all private cryptocurrencies and facilitate introduction of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) topped the government’s busy agenda for the Winter Session of Parliament.

Also read: Exchanges on tenterhooks as they await details of proposed cryptocurrencies Bill

Top cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Sandbox among others crashed overnight on Indian crypto exchanges on Wednesday as investors panicked following the government’s plans on the bill seeking to prohibit private cryptocurrencies while allowing certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology.

Additionally, the former RBI Governor said that the government must focus on the underlying blockchain technology, letting it flourish adding that blockchain ways of transacting were much cheaper, especially across borders.

There has been a fair share of regulatory concerns when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

However, despite regulatory uncertainty and the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) concerns, India now has close to 400 cryptocurrency-based start-ups offering various services to the crypto ecosystem.

According to data sourced by BusinessLine from Tracxn, there are 380 crypto start-ups and 12 Non-fungible Tokens-based (NFT) start-ups currently operating in the country, as per previous reports.

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What happens to cryptocurrency you buy if India decides to ban it, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Well, it is not the first time that the Indian government has pondered over banning cryptocurrencies. Initially, in 2013, when bitcoin was launched, the first few years went in hush-hush. The technology was new. This was something that was a store of value with no central authority.

Not only the government but also, enthusiastic investors were speculating how bitcoin will turn out to be. When after the end of 2016, this revolutionary financial asset made noise, the Indian government came to action.

Any government of the world is about authority, power and regulation. And bitcoin, or rather say, cryptocurrency, took that power from the government. There was no bank, no RBI or no scrutiny around your money. You held an asset and you did your investment, you used the money gained and you made sure your investment strategy works for you. There was no advisory, no policymakers, no brainwashing whatsoever. The bitcoin investment grew so much in 2017, that the Indian government had to come into action.

When wheels came, bicycles were invented. We all thought this is going to stay. Then came the motors and we thought the motor vehicles were going to stay. Then came the Wright brothers, who told us that we also could fly. But when the finite supply of automobile fuel would be exhausted, none of these would matter.

On the same lines, we thought writing letters is the best way to reach farther places. Then boom. The 2000s came and the internet was all over. The communication could be done in milliseconds.

So now let us talk about what we cannot do when there is a ban. When we say the ban, we mean that the transactions between the bank and your crypto exchanges will be stopped. This means that you will not be able to convert your local currency into buying any kind of cryptocurrency. This also means that you will not be able to liquidate your HODLed cryptos and get them encashed. This means, your HODLed cryptocurrency will be on *HODL* for some time more until the ban is uplifted.

But what if you send your cryptos to someone who is not an Indian resident and belongs to a country where crypto is legal. Well, in that case, you can always send your acquired crypto, and get the equivalent INR in your bank. However, this procedure of exit would come at a cost. The foreign exchange cost and penalties would cost you more than the actual exchange fees, had there been no ban in your own country.

But, you still need to identify the catch here. By the above method, we see that the transactions that involve crypto are still possible. No government can ever tame the internet. The government tried to ban PUBG. The gaming community in India identified VPNs that would still make PUBG accessible to them. The government tried banning porn, but anything that is accessible to everyone, or is made available on the cloud, can never be fully tamed. The same goes with the decentralised and open source-based cryptocurrencies as well.

Unocoin is one such platform that lets its user buy, sell and trade 40+ cryptocurrencies. The transactional fees are very nominal as compared to the features that it provides. Unocoin has always respected and abided by the laws set by the government of India and RBI. But it also makes sure it creates a space where the crypto exchanges are smooth. Hence, Unocoin collaborated with Airtm for a cross-platform transaction. With this Unocoin – Airtm collab, any Unocoin user can buy any crypto from either platform in exchange for his/her local fiat currency and via the pairing coin US dollar Tether ( USDT), can convert his/her acquired cryptos into another crypto/fiat currency from the other platform.

It is like entering a bridge, walking on the bridge and reaching the other side of the river. With the USDT acting as a pairing coin or the bridge, the walk from one end to the other and back to the first end is possible.

While there are speculations on the cryptocurrency, the virtual currency enthusiasts know for sure, that these are only the ups and downs that come in their investment plan. India would eventually be a country where there will be no inhibitions over cryptocurrencies, sooner or later.

The writer is Co-founder & CEO of Unocoin Technologies Private Limited



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Crypto industry urges govt to take nuanced approach, asks investors to remain calm, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The cryptocurrency industry on Wednesday urged the government to take a nuanced approach towards regulating crypto assets in India and asked investors in the country to remain calm and not arrive at a rushed conclusion, a day after the government listed for introduction a Bill to ban all such cryptocurrencies, with some exceptions.

‘The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021′, to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament beginning November 29, seeks to “create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses”.

BuyUcoin CEO Shivam Thakral said it expects the Bill to accommodate the aspirations of Indian crypto owners, Indian crypto entrepreneurs, and investors who have put their faith in India’s crypto growth story.

“The crypto Bill should be flexible enough for young blockchain projects to flourish and we strongly believe that there is a strong case for a standard process for new cryptocurrencies before they get listed on any exchange in India for trading.

“I think popular crypto-assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum will be pre-approved by the regulators for getting listed on the exchange. We also request the government to give immediate clarity on the taxation and filing of crypto assets,” Thakral said.

CoinSwitch Kuber founder and CEO Ashish Singhal said the industry has been actively communicating with all stakeholders keeping investor protection at the forefront.

“Our discussions in the last few weeks indicate there is a broad agreement on ensuring that customers are protected, financial system stability is reinforced and India is able to take advantage of the crypto technology revolution…

“As of now, I urge all crypto asset investors in the country to remain calm, do their own research before arriving at a rushed conclusion,” said Singhal, who is also the co-chair of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC).

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX’s spokesperson said a well-assessed and thought-through regulation will pave the way for greater adoption of the technology and will help millions of Indians embrace this new-age asset class.

OKEx.com CEO Jay Hao said India is home to the highest number of crypto owners in the world and the onus lies on the government to protect the interest of a large number of crypto investors in the country.

“We urge the government to take a nuanced approach towards regulating crypto assets in India. With the positive outcome of the cryptocurrency Bill, India will embark on an exciting journey of becoming the global leader in crypto, Defi, and NFTs,” Hao said.

Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month held a meeting on the cryptocurrencies with senior officials, and indications are that strong regulatory steps could be taken to deal with the issue.

There has been a rising number of advertisements, featuring even film stars, promising easy and high returns on investments in cryptocurrencies in recent times, amid concerns over such currencies being allegedly used for luring investors with misleading claims.

Last week, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha, met the representatives of crypto exchanges and BACC, among others, and arrived at a conclusion that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but it should be regulated.

The RBI has repeatedly reiterated its strong views against cryptocurrencies saying they pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country and also doubted the number of investors trading on them as well as their claimed market value.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has also reiterated his views against allowing cryptocurrencies saying they are a serious threat to any financial system since they are unregulated by central banks.

The RBI had announced its intent to come out with an official digital currency, in the face of proliferation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin about which the central bank has had many concerns.

Private digital currencies/ virtual currencies/ crypto currencies have gained popularity in the past one decade or so. Here, regulators and governments have been sceptical about these currencies and are apprehensive about the associated risks.

On March 4, 2021, the Supreme Court had set aside an RBI circular of April 6, 2018, prohibiting banks and entities regulated by it from providing services in relation to virtual currencies.



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US banking regulators to clarify banks’ crypto role in 2022, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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WASHINGTON: US banking regulators intend to clarify in 2022 what role traditional banks can legally play in the cryptocurrency market, they said on Tuesday.

In a statement, regulators said they plan to make clear what sort of activities banks can engage in involving cryptocurrency, including holding it on their balance sheets, issuing stablecoins and holding crypto assets and facilitating crypto trading on behalf of customers, among other currently murky areas.

The joint statement from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is an update on work done by an interagency “sprint” team convened earlier this year.

While not providing details, the agencies said the rapid growth of cryptocurrency presents “potential opportunities and risks” for traditional banks. They said regulators want to provide “coordinated and timely” clarity to the institutions they monitor.

“The agencies have identified a number of areas where additional public clarity is warranted,” the agencies said. “Throughout 2022, the agencies plan to provide greater clarity on whether certain activities related to crypto-assets conducted by banking organizations are legally permissible, and expectations for safety and soundness, consumer protection, and compliance with existing laws and regulations.”

Agency officials have been working on identifying risks facing banks engaging in crypto activity, as well as whether existing regulations must be updated to account for that activity.



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El Salvador to build cryptocurrency-fueled “Bitcoin City”, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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LA LIBERTAD, El Salvador – In a rock concert-like atmosphere, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that his government will build an oceanside “Bitcoin City” at the base of a volcano.

Bukele used a gathering of Bitcoin enthusiasts Saturday night to launch his latest idea, much as he used a an earlier Bitcoin conference in Miami to announce in a video message that El Salvador would be the first country to make the cryptocurrency legal tender,

A bond offering would happen in 2022 entirely in Bitcoin, Bukele said, wearing his signature backwards baseball cap. And 60 days after financing was ready, construction would begin.

The city will be built near the Conchagua volcano to take advantage of geothermal energy to power both the city and Bitcoin mining – the energy-intensive solving of complex mathematical calculations day and night to verify currency transactions.

The government is already running a pilot Bitcoin mining venture at another geothermal power plant beside the Tecapa volcano.

The oceanside Conchagua volcano sits in southeastern El Salvador on the Gulf of Fonseca.

The government will provide land and infrastructure and work to attract investors.

The only tax collected there will be the value-added tax, half of which will be used to pay the municipal bonds and the rest for municipal infrastructure and maintenance. Bukele said there would be no property, income or municipal taxes and the city would have zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The city would be built with attracting foreign investment in mind. There would be residential areas, malls, restaurants and a port, Bukele said. The president talked of digital education, technology and sustainable public transportation.

“Invest here and earn all the money you want,” Bukele told the cheering crowd in English at the closing of the Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference being held in El Salvador.

Bitcoin has been legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar since Sept. 7.

The government is backing Bitcoin with a $150 million fund. To incentivize Salvadorans to use it, the government offered $30 worth of credit to those using its digital wallet.

Critics have warned that the currency’s lack of transparency could attract increased criminal activity to the country and that the digital currency’s wild swings in value would pose a risk to those holding it.

Bitcoin was originally created to operate outside government controlled financial systems and Bukele says it will help attract foreign investment to El Salvador and make it cheaper for Salvadorans living abroad to send money home to their families.

Concern among the Salvadoran opposition and outside observers has grown this year as Bukele has moved to consolidate power.

Voters gave the highly popular president’s party control of the congress earlier this year. The new lawmakers immediately replaced the members of the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court and the attorney general, leaving Bukele’s party firmly in control of the other branches of government.

The U.S. government in response said it would shift its aid away from government agencies to civil society organizations. This month, Bukele sent a proposal to congress that would require organizations receiving foreign funding to register as foreign agents.



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Despite regulatory concerns, over 400 start-ups jump onto crypto ecosystem

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Despite regulatory uncertainty and the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) concerns, India now has close to 400 cryptocurrency-based start-ups offering various services to the crypto ecosystem.

According to data sourced by BusinessLine from Tracxn, there are 380 crypto start-ups and 12 Non-fungible Tokens-based (NFT) start-ups currently operating in the country. Per industry players, in 2021 alone, at least 100 cryptocurrency start-ups have been launched.

“There are many start-ups that are focussed on creating new coins, supporting the exchanges and ecosystem, and some businesses are building investor communities around cryptos. These activities have been very strong this year. Roughly 50-60 crypto start-ups came up last year itself,” Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin, told this newspaper.

Crypto transactions had hit a pause early last year when the RBI told banks not to fulfil payments related to cryptocurrencies. However, with the Supreme Court staying the RBI order, the crypto industry has grown significantly. Start-ups in the space saw funding grow 73 per cent in the first six months of calendar 2021 compared to the whole of 2020. Bengaluru-based crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber and Mumbai-based CoinDCX hit unicorn valuations recently. The average investment per individual has also gone up to ₹10,000 from ₹6,000-8,000 a year or two ago.

‘Protect, don’t ban’

According to experts, policymakers should consider the growth in the ecosystem while putting in place adequate regulations to protect investors.

Seeing the growth in this space, some entrepreneurs such as fintech Walrus’ founder Bhagaban Behera entered the crypto market. Behera and his co-founders decided to launch a social crypto exchange Defy last week, wherein users could create their profiles and share their portfolios and investment thoughts with friends and followers. “For India, the cryptos NFT segment is quite nascent. We want to build simple software and eventually launch crypto mutual funds, credit cards, fixed deposits, SIP plan,” Behera said.

Growth of NFTs

The NFT segment too is slowly gaining ground and finding new formats.

There are all kinds of NFT start-ups from exchanges, start-ups building APIs, tools, infrastructure for creating NFTs etc. “People are going crazy around entertainment, sports, utility-based NFTs, with possibilities to enter into the Metaverse. There is a lot of FOMO around NFTs in the market and we feel it will remain there for some time,” Toshendra Sharma, Founder and CEO, NFTically, told BusinessLine.

 

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Cryptocurrency to be regulated and gains taxed; govt to amend I-T laws, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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With the consensus on allowing cryptocurrencies gaining momentum, the government is mulling changes in the income tax laws to bring cryptocurrencies under the tax net, with some changes that could form part of the budget next year, a top official said.

Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said that in terms of income tax, some people are already paying capital gains tax on the income from cryptocurrency, and in respect of goods and services tax (GST) also the law is “very clear” that the rate would be applicable as those in case of other services.

“We will take a call. I understand that already people are paying taxes on it. Now that it has really grown a lot, we will see whether we can actually bring in some changes in law position or not. But that would be a budget activity. We are already nearing the budget, we have to look at that point of time,” Bajaj told PTI in an interview.

Asked if a provision of TCS (tax collected at source) could be introduced for crypto trading, the secretary said “if we come up with a new law then we will see what is to be done”.

“But yes, if you make money you have to pay taxes. We have already got some taxes, some have treated it as an asset and paid capital gains tax on it,” he said.

Asked whether people involved in cryptocurrency trading would be categorized as facilitator, brokerage and trading platform and how the taxation would be done under GST, Bajaj said “there would already be such things available in other services also. So whatever GST rate they are taxed at, that will be applicable on them.”

“They have to get themselves registered. The GST law is very clear. If there is an activity, if there is a broker who is helping people and charging brokerage fee, GST would get charged,” he said.

Separately, the government is likely to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies during the Winter Session of Parliament beginning November 29, amid concerns over such currencies being allegedly used for luring investors with misleading claims.

Notably, there have been a rising number of advertisements, featuring even film stars, promising easy and high returns on investments in cryptocurrencies in recent times.

Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on use of cryptocurrencies in the country. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last week, held a meeting on cryptocurrencies with senior officials and indications are that strong regulatory steps could be taken to deal with the issue.

Earlier this week, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha, met the representatives of crypto exchanges, block chain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), among others, and arrived at a conclusion that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but it should be regulated.

The RBI has repeatedly reiterated its strong views against cryptocurrencies saying they pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country and also doubted the number of investors trading on them as well as their claimed market value.

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das too earlier this month had reiterated his views against allowing cryptocurrencies saying they are a serious threat to any financial system since they are unregulated by central banks.

The Supreme Court in early March 2020, had nullified the RBI circular banning cryptocurrencies. Following this on February 5, 2021, the central bank had instituted an internal panel to suggest a model of the central bank’s digital currency.

The RBI had announced its intent to come out with an official digital currency, in the face of proliferation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin about which the central bank has many concerns.

Private digital currencies/virtual currencies/crypto currencies have gained popularity in the past one decade or so. Here, regulators and governments have been sceptical about these currencies and are apprehensive about the associated risks.

It can be noted that on March 4, 2021, the Supreme Court had set aside an RBI circular of April 6, 2018, prohibiting banks and entities regulated by it from providing services in relation to virtual currencies.



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Ensure cryptocurrency does not end in wrong hands: PM to democratic nations

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged all democratic nations to work together to ensure that cryptocurrency does not end up in the wrong hands, cautioning that it can spoil the youth.

 

In a virtual address at the Sydney Dialogue, he said the digital age is changing everything as it has redefined politics, economies and societies and has raised new questions on sovereignty, governance, ethics, rights and security.

Giving an overview of India’s approach to new technologies, Modi said the country is investing in developing indigenous capabilities in diverse areas including in 5G and 6G for the telecom sector.

Also read: Crypto investments gaining currency

The Prime Minister said India uses data as a source of empowerment of people and that the country has unmatched experience in doing this in a democratic framework with strong guarantees of individual rights.

“It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth,” he said referring to cryptocurrency.

 

Modi said India is building the world’s most extensive public information infrastructure and that over 1.3 billion Indians have a unique digital identity.

“The greatest product of technology today is data. In India, we have created a robust framework of data protection, privacy and security. And, at the same time, we use data as a source of empowerment of people,” he said.

Also read: RBI may pilot digital currency in Q1 of FY23

He said India is on its way to connecting 6,00,000 villages with broadband. Referring to the strategic cooperation between India and Australia, he said it is a force of good for the region and the world.

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Former RBI DG says central bank’s concerns on crypto stem from money laundering, valuation concerns, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Former RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan on Wednesday said money laundering and lack of clarity on valuations are the primary concerns of central banks in being circumspect about the introduction of cryptocurrencies. If the government goes ahead and allows cryptocurrencies, bankers need to be wary and not confuse persons’ wealth with the amount of crypto assets they hold even if they do not use it as collateral for lending, Vishwanathan said.

The comments come amid a heated debate over whether to allow private cryptocurrencies into the country, which has seen the RBI being vocal about its concerns, while the government seems to be more amenable.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had on Tuesday reiterated his concerns over cryptocurrencies, saying there are ‘far deeper issues’ involved in virtual currencies that could pose a threat to the country’s economic and financial stability. The government is likely to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies during the winter session of Parliament, beginning November 29.

Vishwanathan said world over, central banks are concerned with cryptocurrencies and wondered what makes governments more supportive of it.

“The central bank’s concerns come from two fundamental areas. One, of course, is that crypto-assets are seen as a possible source of money laundering, number two is that the valuations,” he said, speaking at the 8th SBI Banking and Economic Conclave.

He said we should not confuse cryptocurrencies with dematerialisation, where there is an underlying asset, which comes up in a digital form.

The career central banker added that we do not know what defines a value of a crypto asset, and the limited understanding is demand-supply forces govern the value.

The value of bitcoin, probably the most popular among the crypto assets, “gyrated” to USD 10,000 and swings between USD 7-17,000 per coin, he noted.

Vishwanathan said a person’s crypto holdings should not determine the wealth because the constant volatilities in the value can make a rich person seem poor or vice-versa.

Bankers should be extra careful and should not look at the crypto holdings while assessing a wealth of a potential borrower and should not lend against such assets, he added.

Earlier, Vishwanathan said, central banks prefer central bank digital currencies (CBDC) over the private and unregulated crypto assets and added that the introduction of the CBDC will help foreign trade.

The former DG said the activity of big tech companies like Google in aspects like deposit mobilisation for lenders is not so high that the RBI needs to be concerned about.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said our experiences with the past will ensure an orderly exit from the present stimulus given by the RBI.

Replying to a question on whether banks are overcharging for forex commissions to small exporters, Khara said the market forces can ensure that no one is over-charged, while Swaminathan J, a managing director of SBI, said any enterprise works on cross-subsidisation, where it earns higher from a particular revenue stream and less from another.

Swaminathan added that various fee and commission streams have closed down with time, and banks will take an appropriate call on this particular one and case of regulatory action.



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