The Reserve Bank of India is considering a digital currency

If one year ago the supreme court in India was overturning the country’s Reserve Bank’s ban on cryptocurrencies, it appears that things have changed significantly in the meantime, as the Institution looks way more open toward digital assets.

Specifically, it appears that the RBI is now “exploring the possibility as to whether there is a need for a digital version of fiat currency,” according to a booklet on payments released this week. The same source claims that if a need for this type of asset will be found, the Royal Bank of India will start looking for ways of putting the digital currency into use.

Mixed feelings towards crypto

Multiple sources claim that Indian regulators, as well as the local government bodies, maintain a skeptical attitude towards cryptocurrencies, but, at the same time, they are “apprehensive” about them.

The Reserve Bank of India does refer to digital currencies as legal tender inside the country while calling them “a central bank liability in digital form,” which raises a few question marks regarding the future of such assets in the country.

A complicated relationship

Back in March 2020, the country’s supreme court overturned a blanket ban on cryptocurrency, previously imposed on all crypto business since April 2018. Since then, the number of exchanges kept growing, as a response to the supreme court ruling. However, there were still several concerns regarding the future of the industry in India.

Finally, the simple fact that a financial institution as large as the Reserve Bank of India is considering the development of a cryptocurrency is a big plus for further crypto adoption.

With an “exponential growth of digital payments” in the country with 12.5% since 2011, while the increase of volume and value is around 43% since the same moment, the bank might as well expand adoption through a process that includes focusing on “the generation which is most responsive to technology and digital age”, consisting in people born between 1982 and 2004.