Ban cryptocurrency, BJP MP Shivakumar Udasi urges Centre

Expressing concern over young people losing money in cryptocurrency, a BJP MP Shivakumar Udasi on Monday urged the Centre to ban cryptocurrency immediately.

Participating in the debate on the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants 2022-23 in Lok Sabha, Udasi said a lot of people, especially young investors, have booked loss for their investment in crypto following the recent meltdown.

"I hope cryptocurrency will be banned in the country...already RBI has launched e-rupee," he said, adding that even the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance raised various issues against such kinds of virtual currencies.

Insisting that blockchain technology or digital ledger will be used for future development of the country, he said blockchain technology can be used to check duplicity in land records.

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It is to be noted that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot launched by the RBI in retail segment has components based on blockchain technology.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched pilots of CBDC in both wholesale and retail segments.

The pilot in the wholesale segment, known as the Digital Rupee -Wholesale, was launched on November 1, 2022, with use cases being limited to the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities.

The use of Digital Rupee -Wholesale is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient.

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Settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk. The pilot in the retail segment, known as Digital Rupee-Retail, was launched on December 1, 2022, within a closed user group comprising participating customers and merchants.