Local Bitcoin Industry Pushed Aside in India As “Crypto vs RBI” is Delayed Until Mid-July 2019

The debate over regulations regarding cryptocurrency in India has been going on for quite some time. On March 29^th, the Indian Supreme Court was supposed to have the regulations proposed for the way that the government will handle the use of crypto in the area. However, after a request came in from the Government’s Counsel, the court quickly adjourned with absolutely no decision made.

According to a tweet by Crypto Kanoon, this matter has been delayed until the second week in July.

Update in #CryptoVsRBI!

Supreme Court has adjourned the #CryptoVsRBI matter on the request of Government's Counsel. Matter fixed for final arguments in 2nd week of July on a non-miscellaneous (Regular) day.

— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) March 29, 2019

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had ordered the local financial institutions to stop interacting with crypto businesses in 2018, starting on July 5^th, which means the ban will have stayed in effect for over a year by the next court date. The ban has been a major concern of the court and the government, considering whether the ban is proper. Formerly, there was supposed four weeks that the Supreme Court would use for these decisions, but it only took 10 seconds for it to end.

Considering how progressive the investors are in India with the acceptance of crypto themselves, the delay in this decision was not well received. Tomorrow, on March 30^th, the fourth of the blockchain supporter rallies will comment in Bangalore. Reports suggest that this particular rally will have a substantial impact, considering that there are many developers that are expected to be involved.

The former rallies have been hosted in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, which have all brought in thousands of attendees. Most of the economy has been impacted by the lack of regulations, and there’s many businesses that have refrained from interacting with crypto. However, the Startup Cafe in Gorakhpur, co-founded by Arunn Gupta, became the first co-working space in the country to accept crypto payments. Since there were many co-workers attending that already had Bitcoin investments, Gupta thought the decision to accept crypto as payment was a natural choice. However, the ban imposed by RBI made it impossible to accept these payments.

The decision on cryptocurrency in India is not something that will only impact the ability of consumers to invest. The local merchants are greatly impacted as well, and it was hoped that the decision today would help. However, if anything is a good indication of where this decision was headed, then the comments that the committee head Subhash Chandra Garg made back in 2017 should be considered.

At the time, he said that crypto should not be considered a current or a coin, or even “legal tender.”

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoins are neither currency nor coin. Not legal tender in India at all. Trade in these currencies has assumed character of classical Ponzi schemes. Limited supply and uninformed demand makes every new investor assume higher risk. No underlying real value.

— Subhash Chandra Garg (@Subhashgarg1960) December 30, 2017

As the decision has been delayed, it looks like the local commerce will need to continue waiting until July.