Bitcoin, Ethereum or NFT will never become legal tender: Finance Secretary

business-standard.com:

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum will never become a legal tender, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan told ANI adding only the digital rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would be the legal tender.

Speaking to ANI, Finance Secretary said, "Digital rupee will be backed by RBI which will never default. Money will be of RBI but the nature will be digital. The digital rupee issued by RBI will be the legal tender. We can purchase non-digital assets with the digital rupee like we purchase an ice cream or other things using our wallet or payments through UPI platform." "Rest all are not legal tender, will not, will never become legal tender. Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any NFT will never become a legal tender," he added.

Somanathan said that crypto assets are assets whose value is determined between two people, you can buy gold, diamond, and crypto assets, but that value will not have authorisation by the government. People investing in private crypto should understand that it is not having the authorisation of the government. There is not any guarantee that your investments will be successful or not, one may lose money and the government is not responsible for this, he said.

Finance Secretary clarified that the things which are not legal don't mean that they are illegal. "I am not saying that Bitcoin or Ethereum is illegal, but that is not illegal too. But I can say that if regulation comes for cryptocurrency then also it will not be a legal tender," said Somanathan.

Somanathan said that regulation may seek KYC, seller's license, but it will be decided by the government later with wide consultation with stakeholders. We will also see what is happening in other countries, he said. Elaborating more on the digital