Bitcoin Situation in India Remains Unclear as Supreme Court Delays Verdict Again

India’s stance on cryptocurrencies remains unclear. A decision by the Supreme Court on the actions of the Reserve Bank of India was initially expected earlier this week. The final verdict is postponed yet again, which causes even further unrest.

India and Cryptocurrencies

It has become apparent several Indian government officials want nothing to do with cryptocurrencies. This is clearly evident by the Ministry of Finance releasing the following statement last year:

There has been a phenomenal increase in recent times in the price of Virtual ‘Currencies’ (VCs) including Bitcoin, in India and globally. The VCs don’t have any intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets. The price of Bitcoin and other VCs, therefore, is entirely a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility in their prices. There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes which can result in sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers losing their hard-earned money.

This has resulted in a divided government, which does not make the regulatory stance towards Bitcoin any more clear at this stage. Because of this status quo, the RBI has made its decision very clear several months ago.

Despite the lack of active regulation, the country’s central bank prevents banks from having any transactions with cryptocurrency exchanges or traders. This essentially negates fiat/cryptocurrency trading. It is an unpopular decision among both service providers and consumers. Several companies were forced to look for different business models in an effort to stay afloat. At the same time, there are serious questions regarding the RBI’s ban on trading.

Even bank officials are not certain that decision is the correct one. Despite these doubts, the ban on Bitcoin trading across India remains in effect. The only legal entity to overturn this decision is the Supreme Court. This entity was meant to render a verdict on September 11th, yet the decision has been postponed yet again.

Delays and More Delays

It is not the first time the Supreme Court delayed this decision. The court initially declined to offer any interim relief to exchanges while a final decision was being pondered. A decision was expected in August. At first, the Supreme Court pushed the date back to September 11th. This week, further delays have happened.

As the arguments will continue for long in another matter, the Court has adjourned all other matters including Crypto matter. Matter is now likely to be listed on tuesday. Further updates will follow after the cause list. — Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) September 13, 2018

Based on recent information, the decision will be finalized on September 18th. It is, however, possible there will be further delays as the date draws near. No official cause has been mentioned to explain these delays. One possible cause is that many of the respondents involved in the case have not filed their submissions to the court yet. It should be noted that the RBI has.

For now, the cryptocurrency situation in India remains unclear. It is evident something needs to change in this regard. This legal battle has gone for far too long already. Cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts demand a resolution to be made public. Until that happens, the situation in India will remain subject to unrest. Not an ideal situation for such a potentially groundbreaking industry.

How do you think India’s Supreme Court will rule? Will there be another delay? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Twitter/@cryptokanoon.