RBI Governor Asserts Caution On Crypto, Says "It's A Threat To Financial Stability"

New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has once again voiced serious concerns against private cryptocurrencies. "Cryptocurrency is privately created and it is a threat to financial stability," Mr Das said in a post monetary policy press conference on Thursday.

It will undermine RBI's ability to deal with issues, the Governor added.

"Investors should keep in mind that they are investing at their own risk. They should also keep in mind that the cryptocurrency has no underlying, not even a tulip," the RBI chief further said while referring to the Dutch tulip bulb market bubble in the 17th century.

Mr Das has time and again flagged issues about the functioning of cryptocurrencies.

Though, Mr Das stated that RBI's Digital Rupee will be launched in the year 2022-23 but didn't give a timeline for its release. "There will be no difference between a Digital Rupee and the normal rupee," the Governor said.

The Union Budget 2022-23, presented on February 1, has proposed a 30 per cent tax on virtual digital assets.

Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) held the lending rate, or the repo rate, at 4 per cent and the reverse repo rate, or the key borrowing rate, at 3.35 per cent.

The central bank has held the key repo rate at record lows since May 2020 and reiterated time and again that it will remain supportive of growth and keep its stance accommodative until economic recovery is firmly entrenched.

RBI retained its growth projection at 9.2 per cent and inflation at 5.3 per cent for the current financial year (2021-22).