At the end of last year, the Central Bank announced the launch of the digital rupee (CBDC).
The regulator analyzed the consequences of integrating the token into the state financial system and concluded that CBDC will become one of the drivers for its modernization.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the beginning of the week that the digital rupee could appear on the domestic market as early as 2022. However, at this stage, it is too early to talk about the legalization of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The government and the Reserve Bank are discussing options for a regulatory framework for the blockchain industry. CBDC will be fully controlled by the regulator.
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Nirmala Sitharaman said: "We see advantages in a digital rupee managed by a central bank, because these days mass payments between countries, large transactions between institutions and transactions between central banks themselves are better implemented in digital currency."
The minister does not exclude that soon the Indian authorities will legalize bitcoin and crypto payments.
However, this is only possible if the state can develop a mechanism for monitoring transactions with digital currencies and introduce an effective tax regime for them.