In an unusual incident, Jammu and Kashmir police in an awareness session, have been found issuing a public statement, strictly warning the locals against investments in cryptocurrencies. This is the first of its kind wherein the law enforcement authorities in the state have been trying to spread awareness of the dark side of cryptocurrencies and its repercussions post investments.
In the session, Police tried to enlighten the locals against the high risks of investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and others, primarily targeting the investors who are believed to get into such lucrative deals. They tried to highlight on the fact that cryptocurrencies are not officially sanctioned by any authorized body or the government of J&K. Any such investments would be at their own risk.>
As per one of the leading news agencies, The Business Standard, the inspector general of the local branch was found heading this session, informing the public not to make any forms of investments in cryptocurrencies which are virtual in nature such as Bitcoin as they involve a lot of undisclosed risks. The inspector general of police further reiterated on the point that the crypto market is highly volatile and can experience sudden crash which could be prolonged in nature exposing investors to the real-time traps eventually leading to the loss of their savings which has been hard-earned.
Currently, in the the Indian subcontinent, there has been enforcement on the ban of cryptocurrencies and its operation, especially in banks. This has come in to effect in the aftermath of a circular introduced by the RBI or Reserve Bank of India. The strict adherence to the circular has led to the fall of several businesses operating locally, and this has posed a serious challenge in the Supreme Court of India.
After all this dark news arising from the world of Cryptocurrencies, the government is approaching cryptocurrency with a lot of caution and regulation. This could be due to the absence of a formal body that can officially recognize the cryptocurrencies and its operations and its various platforms associated with it.
Off late, there was a plan from the RBI to introduce a cryptocurrency at a national level called crypto rupee, but as per the latest notification, the project stands on hold. Similarly, the apex bank declared earlier that it would be introducing central bank digital currency (CBDC) in mid of 2018. This body would be entrusted with the establishment of an inter-departmental group whose prime responsibility would be to create operational parameters and guidelines for CBDC. Even though the report of the group has not been published but as per a leading news agency, the Hindu Business Line, it was revealed that the government is not interested in the digital currency as of now and believes it to be very early to get into it.