Cryptocurrencies have won with court in India – for how long?

After a stressful and fearful trial at the Indian Supreme Court, India officially admitted that Bitcoins and other cryptographic assets are not illegal. In addition, the country’s central bank – Reserve Bank of India (RBI), confirmed that it does not impose restrictions on BTC or other altcoins. Is this judgment the end of the battle for cryptocurrencies, or is the beginning of their end in India?

Argument about cryptocurrencies

According to the RBI statement of April 2018, banks closed cryptocurrencies exchange accounts, forcing some of them to give up operations in India. There were also plans to submit a bill to completely ban cryptocurrency in the country. Also, there have been reports of fines or imprisonment for people dealing with virtual currency. According to analyzes, if the entire crypto market were banned, India’s revenues could fall by up to USD 12 billion.

Fight for justice

Thanks to the Internet and Mobile Association in India (IAMAI), this case went to court. Today, the IAMAI proxy, answering to the Supreme Court, presented extensive arguments for the fact that the central bank acted outside its jurisdiction and authority, imposing banking restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry. After explaining how other countries handle cryptocurrencies and how virtual currency exchanges operate, he emphasized that a banking channel is needed to conduct exchanges. The court also asked about the way Bitcoins are mined.
It was also mentioned, that the RBI does not have the legal authority to integrate into cryptocurrency activities – because a ban like this can only be made on the basis of parliamentary law. To put it more simply – the central bank did not have any legal basis for the actions of April 2018, and yet they carried them out.

Bitcoin in India – what will the future bring?

RBI gave an official explanation in the media of the whole situation. They said, that cryptocurrencies and their use is not prohibited for citizens, but for financial institutions. The April decision is motivated by the fact that the actions carried out could have largely prevented money laundering, financing of terrorism, etc. The report published by RBI also explains that they want to reduce the consequences of involving financial companies in activities that may cause greater financial risk.
The future of the virtual currency market in this country is very uncertain – it is still unclear whether it will be possible to enact an act prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies by ordinary citizens. Although this is still legal, most cryptocurrency companies are withdrawing their assets from India because of problems with banking and other financial institutions in this country.