This week will go down in history for India’s crypto sector-the long-standing Supreme Court hearing on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s ban on the crypto industry has ruled in favour of the crypto sector, and crypto businesses will now be allowed access to formal banking services.
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Ever since banking restrictions were issued by the RBI in April 2018, banning banks from providing services to entities dealing with cryptocurrencies, India’s crypto community has been grappling with the central bank on the legitimacy of the ban, with petitions filed by industry leaders reaching the Supreme Court.
Four crypto exchanges-CoinDCX, Koinex, Throughbit, and CoinDelta-took to the Supreme Court to present their arguments over the past 2 years, actively voicing their thoughts on behalf of India’s crypto community on the legitimacy of the ban and the impact it would have on India’s broader financial and technology sectors.
Below are the thoughts of Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, Co-founders of CoinDCX, India’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform and liquidity aggregator—which filed one of the five petitions against the 2018 RBI ban, and is the only one of the exchanges which originally petitioned still in operation.
Commentary on Supreme Court hearings on RBI's Ban on India's Crypto Sector
Sumit Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX, said:
"The Supreme Court hearings which took place this year, and led to this decision, were an eventful and information led opportunity for the cryptocurrency community to make its case known to our country’s decision makers. First and foremost, they were an opportunity for industry leaders to engage directly with lawmakers in order to explain to them the nature of our industry, the legitimacy of crypto technologies, and the positive effects the incorporation of cryptocurrencies in India could have on the economy.
As the only petitioner still operating, we are thankful to the Supreme Court for hearing our side of the story and are humbled to see that the case presented successfully highlighted the role which crypto has to play in enabling India’s future growth and forming a new innovative sector of the economy.
Needless to say it is a historic day for not just the crypto community, but for the entire country. We have always believed in the ideals of collaboration and it goes a long way in proving that communication and dialogue with decision makers may lead to constructive, sensible outcomes for our industry. The uplifting of the ban by the Supreme Court is going to open new opportunities for India in terms of investments, economic growth, financial inclusion, and market maturation. We have always seen crypto as a potential to unlock India’s dream of becoming a $5 trillion economy and remain committed to carrying out the hard work which is necessary to make this dream come true."
Neeraj Khandelwal, Co-founder of CoinDCX, said:
"We have seen the highest judicial court of India understanding the potential cryptocurrencies can hold in an economy. It definitely comes as a lesson for the rest of the world that mass adoption of cryptocurrencies will need the support of friendly regulation—and that this regulation may be most proactively developed if both industry leaders and lawmakers engage in honest, reflective dialogue. Our country’s political decision makers and lawmakers are dedicated to what is best for our country, and to doing what they can to support the Indian people and the stability of their future.
We thank the Supreme Court and the entire community who stood with us in this case, and for everyone who contributed to the process of reaching the landmark decision. This should be a celebration of the capabilities of young entrepreneurs in this country—I believe the uplifting of this ban will unleash new possibilities for tremendous growth and never-seen-before innovation in India’s technology sector."
