Indian State Police Issue Warning Against Crypto Investments
According to the reports from local business news daily the Business standard, the police of Indian State of the Jammu and Kashmir have issued a public statement, warning the public against investing in the digital currencies.
The police have warned people against the “heightened risk” of investing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and specified to the investors that the government does not sanction cryptocurrencies. The branch inspector is quoted as saying,
“The general public is informed not to make any type of investment in cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin because there is a real and heightened risk associated with them.”
Further, he said that the crypto market is likely to witness a “sudden and prolonged crash, exposing investors; especially retail consumers who stand to lose their hard-earned money.”
Currently, the Indian government imposes a ban on banks that offer services related to cryptocurrencies, after a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The non-acceptance of digital assets has resulted in the exit of several businesses and a challenge in the Supreme Court of India.
Nevertheless, the Indian government intends to approach the cryptocurrencies with caution and strict regulations. According to the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Shipping, the lawmakers are hesitant to issue formal statues in the short-term due to the lack of a “globally acceptable solution.”
The RBI recently postponed plans to build a national cryptocurrency or as it is called “crypto-rupee.” The Central Bank of India initially announced that it was planning to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in April 2018, going as far as establishing an interdepartmental group to circumspect the potential benefits of a CBDC.
No discoveries made by the group has been revealed yet. According to an unidentified source quoted in the Hindu Business, “The government doesn’t want the digital currency any more. It thinks it is too early to even think about a digital currency.”
