India’s indecision on cryptocurrencies is stifling the country’s crypto industry, says Garlinghouse.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has spoken out about India’s moves toward reinstating a ban on cryptocurrency trading.
“It’s disappointing to see India’s indecision on cryptocurrencies, paralyzing a nascent industry that could serve one of the largest populations of unbanked/underbanked citizens,” he posted on Twitter.
His tweet referenced a Bloomberg Crypto report that India is taking a different approach from its Asian peers by considering legislation that would ban cryptocurrency trading.
India has had a turbulent relationship with digital assets for several years. In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a banking ban on crypto exchanges, which the Indian Supreme Court overturned on March 4 of this year.
After the ban was lifted, local exchanges saw an astonishing 450 percent surge in trading volumes within India. The domestic crypto industry had hoped the ruling would halt proposals aimed at banning the nascent sector. However, the new bill could erase much of the progress made in recent months.
Garlinghouse also emphasized cryptocurrencies’ potential to help India’s unbanked and underbanked populations. According to a World Bank study, India has roughly 190 million unbanked adults, placing the country second only to China among developing nations in terms of residents without bank accounts or formal financial participation.
Although the proposed bill targets crypto trading, it acknowledges and prioritizes the importance of blockchain innovations for supply chain management, educational certificates, and land registry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also highlighted the value of blockchain technology alongside 5G and big data during his address at the India Ideas Summit.
“For the first time in India, there are now more internet users in rural areas than in urban areas. A total of 500 million people are connected in India. Opportunities in 5G, big data analytics, blockchain, IoT,” he stated.
Nischal Shetty, CEO of local cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, expressed hope that the prime minister will not want to halt the growth of the emerging industry.
“Innovative technology will always be viewed negatively by those who don’t understand it… How would anyone think to ban a technology that cannot technically be banned?” he added.