[ad_1]
The country's Supreme Court is ready to hear responses to petitions that challenge the central bank's ban on encrypting exchanges.
Create or break the day for Crypto in India
Today, November 27, 2018, is a day that can decide fate or at least the direction for cryptocurrencies in the fastest growth in the world and 6th the largest economy.
The Supreme Court of the country will now hear answers to the petitions filed by centralized cryptocurrency units against the April order by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank.
The controversial RBI notification
While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies came into prominence last year and the mainstream media went bustling with the phenomenal growth of digital currencies, even investors in India have flocked to the country's major crypto-exchanges such as Zebpay and Unocoin to get their share of the cake.
New exchanges such as Koinex have been launched and have started making good deals. Trade volumes on all exchanges were on the rise.
The Minister of Finance of the country, during his speech on the budget in February, has dampened the flourishing cryptic spirit by stating that the government was eager to exploit the blockchain technology but did not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender.
While this caused temporary FUDs, exchanges were quick to make clear that the minister did not say that digital assets were illegal. Investors could still hold and negotiate cryptocurrencies like other commodities.
Then, in April, the RBI issued an unexpected circular asking the banks to interrupt relations with the cryptocurrency trade. The banks were given a buffer time of 3 months to conclude their relationship with the exchanges and on 5 Julyth it has been set as the deadline.
Panic ensued as investors could no longer make deposits and withdrawals in fiat. Trading volumes on exchanges decreased by 90%.
The subsequent legal battle
Some exchanges sought to mitigate the impact by offering crypto-to-crypto trading or by becoming peer-to-peer platforms while some went to court. The Supreme Court rallied all the petitions connected to the crypt and set the date of the hearing for September 11th.th.
However, due to the huge backlog of cases, the hearing was postponed and finally on 25 October the judges' desk asked the Government of India to submit a counter notification within two weeks with details of the its position on digital resources.
Zebpay lost patience and liquidated his operations in India and moved to Malta. Unocoin has devised a plan to install encrypted ATMs in major cities. However, within a week of the first ATM installed in Bengaluru, the two Unocoin founders were arrested and subsequently released on bail.
On 19 November, the government filed its substitute declaration which included the group's recommendation set up in November last year to work on the proposed framework.
The next hearing, scheduled for yesterday, has been postponed until today. It is expected that the bank will listen to the responses of other stakeholders such as the ministries of finance, law, justice and information technology (IT) today.
If the judge arrives at a sentence today it will not be known after the end of the hearing. However, it is certain that the issue is gradually moving towards closure. Overall, today it could be a "day of judgment" for the future of digital resources in India.
What do you think will be the result of the hearing today? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
