Indian Crypto Judgement Day is Here, What will be the Verdict?

Tomorrow on July 20, Indian Supreme Court will be making its decision on the petition made by crypto enthusiasts against the RBI (central bank) ban on cryptocurrency.

July 20: Ban or no ban

July 20 is just about here for which all the crypto enthusiasts have been waiting. The question is will the Supreme Court of India rule in favor of cryptocurrency or against it.

In April, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular that restricts all the registered entities from dealing with cryptocurrencies that came into effect on July 5. However, in opposition to this crypto ban by central bank Indian crypto enthusiasts filed a petition against the bank.

At the beginning of this month, the hearing of the petition was postponed for July 20. This means, tomorrow the court will decide the future of cryptos in India.  

Since the ban came into action, crypto exchanges have disabled the deposit and withdrawal of fiat. But not all the exchanges went to the same route. Exchanges like Zebpay, Coinome, and BuyUcoin have disabled both deposit and withdrawal while KoinOK, Giottus, and Unocoin are still live with both the options. Some exchanges like Coindelta and Koinex have also found an alternative by launching a P2P system.

Also, read: Ripple Optimistic for XRP in India Despite Regulatory Uncertainty

What’s currently the Scenario?

With the rumors of India not planning to put a blanket ban on cryptos, currently doing the rounds in the market, a hope has emerged. Reportedly, a Finance Ministry panel that is studying digital currencies, might suggest for cryptos to be considered and treated as commodities.

The main concern of the regulators right now is to identify the originating areas of money and effectively regulating the trade. This means, by defining it as a commodity, it would become easier to regulate them for authorities.  

Just like the rest of the world, the Indian government is also concerned about how to fight illegal financing and money laundering.

The governments around the world are trying to understand the crypto market as is happening in the US with continuous discussions. Recently FSB, the global finance regulator also created a framework to monitor crypto risk while stating that it doesn’t see cryptos as a threat to global financial stability. The report supposedly will be presented to the G20, which India is also a part of, before its meeting this weekend.

Moreover, the crypto exchanges have also changed their tune towards the central bank as they emphasize that they are following strict KYC/AML guidelines and are ready to further improve these measures.

Crypto market and enthusiasts are and could be hopeful of tomorrow’s outcome. Though we can only wait and watch for what will be the future of cryptocurrency in India.