The past couple of years have been wild for cryptocurrency. The industry witnessed a rollercoaster ride of gains and sell offs as the price went from under $1000 to nearly $20000 by the end of 2018. These unpredictable rises and falls put Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the map of central banks and governing bodies around the world.
In India, things were no different as the Reserve Bank of India or the RBI, took notice of the the growing market of digital assets garnered the attention of the public. India’s Reserve Bank made their thoughts on crypto clear when they announced a crackdown on crypto that will go into effect on July 6th 2018.
As Bitcoin started its bull run in November of 2017, millions became not only aware, but interested in investing in the digital asset along with other altcoins. The boom led Indian lawmakers and the RBI to issue warnings to potential investors that they could be involved in Ponzi schemes and risk total loss of their initial investments.
By January the Indian government issued a statement notifying citizens that cryptocurrency is not legal tender and began blocking crypto exchanges from making withdrawals and deposits.
Shorty after that statement, finance minister Arun Jaitley told Indian citizens that the Indian government would take action to ensure that cryptocurrencies wouldn’t be used to aid crimes.
The rough bear market that Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency sector has suffered could have a lot to do with second most populous country on Earth coming down so harshly on its trading and use.
In their fight to remove the ban, Indian crypto exchanges have appealed to the lawmakers and banks to probe and regulate the markets, but not to ban the trading of Bitcoin and altcoins altogether.
Crypto experts have argued that the harsh statements and regulatory actions of lawmakers and banks have stunted the growth and adoption of cryptocurrency, but that proper regulations would prevent the crimes that governments fear, while also improving the economy for millions.
