The Supreme Court of India recently announced that it will not be providing any type of relief to cryptocurrency exchanges from the restrictions placed on them by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On April 5th, the RBI had ordered all local financial institutions to bring their banking relationships with crypto related businesses to an end within a 3-month time period. The reserve bank’s official ban on cryptocurrency exchanges will reportedly be effective on July 6th, 2018.
In an attempt to fight the central bank’s crypto ban, several digital currency exchanges took the matter to India’s Supreme Court in April. The court then scheduled the next hearing date for July 20th, which is exactly two weeks after the crypto ban was expected to become effective. However, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which includes local cryptocurrency exchanges among its members, asked the court for an additional hearing on an earlier date, which was conducted on July 3rd.
“A Big Blow” To Crypto Firms
Rashmi Deshpande, a lawyer representing Kali Digital Eco-Systems, a crypto exchange set to launch some time this year, stated, “This a win for the RBI and a big blow to virtual currency exchanges and traders. In our earlier request to the RBI as well, we had asked it to extend the deadline by a month after the July 20 hearing.” Deshpande added that since it has now been decided to move forward with the ban, crypto traders and businesses will not be able to access the nation’s banking services.
In a previous May 17th hearing conducted by the apex court, the exchanges had been requested to file their issues and complaints against the RBI. The companies operating the exchanges had also notably been in close communication with the central bank during the last few days of May and early June. Nischal Shetty, the CEO of local crypto exchange WazirX, noted that his company had tried to explain to the RBI how blockchain technology works by submitting “a detailed presentation that could have given [the bank] a clearer picture on what is blockchain, [and] how the exchanges work.” However, Shetty says he never got any response from the RBI.
Cryptocurrency Regulations Draft Almost Finalized
Moreover, during the July 3rd hearing, the supreme court ordered the reserve bank to address the issues raised by the crypto companies within a week from the end of the hearing. At present, the Indian government is reportedly almost ready to submit its first draft on proposed cryptocurrency regulations.
Subhash Chandra Garg, India’s Economic Affairs Secretary, said that the drafted regulations specify “which parts of [these crypto] businesses should be banned and what should be preserved.” He also stated that discussions pertaining to the drafted regulations would take place and be brought to an end by “the first fortnight of July.”
