Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized the Indian government for its plan to block cryptocurrency trading. In his tweet today, Garlinghouse spoke about India’s renewed effort to enforce a cryptocurrency trading ban.
Stating that he was disappointed by the government’s behavior on cryptocurrency, Garlinghouse said that India has one of the largest non-bank populations.
Another Crypto Ban
On September 15, Bloomberg reported that the Indian federal cabinet was drafting a new bill to ban any digital currency trading. India has been strangling the cryptocurrency industry for years. In 2018, the Central Bank of India (RBI) imposed a banking ban on cryptocurrency, which was later lifted by the Supreme Court on March 4.
Exchanges saw a 450 percent increase in India’s trade volume after the tough ban was lifted by the RBI, but the proposed bill could erase progress made in the past few months. India’s disgust for the cryptocurrency industry seems unproductive, given the country has a financial inclusion issue.
The country has 190 million unbanked adults (competing only with neighboring China among developing countries). Although this is mainly attributed to the size of these countries, crypto can accelerate financial participation.
Importance of Blockchain is Emphasized
Despite its anti-crypto nature, the new law prioritizes blockchain innovations in supply chain management, title registration, and education certificates. In his speech at the India Ideas Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, big data and blockchain:
“For the first time in India, there are more rural internet users than urban internet users. A total of half a billion people are connected to each other in India. In 5G, there are big data analysis, block chain, IoT as an opportunity. “
