New rumors on legislation in India show that the company’s playbook may include creating one national stablecoin to rule them all, and then banning all other forms of cryptocurrency.
Marie Huillet reports this morning on an ‘unverified document’ procured by an Indian technology lawyer today that would be taken up after the current monsoon season.
At the center of this legislative concept is a “digital rupee” issued by India’s reserve bank.
Language in the document shows that all other forms of cryptocurrency would become illegal in India.
Whether it’s real or not, the idea of banning all cryptocurrency involvement in a particular country smacks of the kind of totalitarian protectionism that doesn’t work in a global economy –
With so many Indian citizens moving abroad, investing abroad and holding foreign investments, a move to ban such a vibrant sector would be sure to create problems with the large number of Indians who want to invest capital to see their money grow. The ‘digital rupee,’ in a connected global age, would not be enough to slake the thirsts of those who like various flavors of crypto and blockchain investment. Consider, for example, how many cogent analyses India n travelers to the U.S. have made on DJIA futures.
It’s hard enough for legislators in the New York Attorney General’s office to crack down on crypto exchanges – India’s government may similarly not be up to the job.
Investors can take news like this, though, as a sign of which direction the wind is blowing. For example, it may be time to shy away from some India-based crypto schemes and toward digital asset equities backed by activity in countries like Russia and the United States, where legislators are hard at work on frameworks to welcome and embrace various forms of digital currency.
