'Can't afford a crypto mania; RBI stance stays unchanged'

The US may have greenlighted exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in bitcoin, but for India's apex banking regulator, cryptocurrencies remain a strict no-no.

- Nehal Chaliawala

 "The way we look at crypto remains mint ANNUA BFS unchanged, irrespective of who does what," Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das stated at the 16th Mint Annual BFSI Summit and Awards in Mumbai on Thursday. "Just because somebody and is doing something, we are not here to emulate them." The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved the first US-listed ETFs to track bitcoin, marking a milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry. The SEC approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock, Fidelity and Invesco. At the same time, the SEC said it does not endorse or approve bitcoin.

"RBI's position on cryptocurrency remains unchanged. Travelling down that path will create huge risks. I don't think the world or emerging markets (EMS) can take a crypto mania like the tulip mania," Das said, referring to the 17th century boom and bust in Dutch tulip prices, regarded as one of the most infamous asset bubbles in history.

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