RBI mulls own cryptocurrency; warns against bitcoin

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 13

The Reserve Bank of India is considering the introduction of its own cryptocurrencies but was not comfortable with bitcoins which did not come under the jurisdiction of any central bank.

Speaking at an event on financial technologies, Sudarshan Sen, RBI Executive Director, said bitcoins were private cryptocurrency.

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“We are not comfortable with non-fiat cryptocurrencies... like bitcoins. Fiat (cryptocurrencies) will be those (which are issued by) the Reserve Bank …which you can carry in the cyber space with you, when you don’t have to keep physical currency in your pocket,” he said.

Sen added that the RBI had a team of experts working on the central bank’s own version of cryptocurrencies.

The central bank has been warning investors against dabbling in cryptocurrencies on the grounds that these could be misused for terrorism and financial fraud.

The Finance Ministry has already set up a committee of experts to consider instituting a regulatory framework to govern the use of virtual currencies.