After a series of events since 2018, India has been going through a strong regulatory process of cryptocurrencies. In reality, the government authorities of this nation have shown their interest in prohibiting the trade of cryptocurrencies.
The main entity that has been given this task is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which in 2018 issued an order that prohibited private banks from having commercial ties with exchange companies of the crypto-cosmo — without a doubt, to indirectly ban cryptocurrency trading and especially the buying of bitcoin in India.
However, whatever happens, or whatever the Indian regulators do, you can buy bitcoin in India through many other international P2P exchanges like Remitano.
At this point, the Indian crypto-community, mainly represented by the national exchanges, made their legal move before the Supreme Court of India in such a way that this order was appealed and invalidated.
This fact was confirmed in March 2020, when the largest regulator in India lifted the ban. However, this action is still only provisional. In the face of the RBI’s refusal regarding decentralized cryptocurrencies, another important entity has entered the scene; we are talking about the Ministry of Finance of India that in July 2020 reported that it would start working on the final legislation.
This legislation has a parliamentary commission that has already presented a regulatory project that prohibits the trade of decentralized cryptocurrencies within the Asian nation, and in turn, proposes a government cryptocurrency.
This has been confirmed by an anonymous source to Bloomberg, who claims to hold an important position in the Ministry of Finance of India. According to him, the project is called: ‘Bill on Cryptocurrencies and regulation of the official digital currency, 2021’.
But even though the ban on buying bitcoin in India seems imminent, you have nothing to fear. Below we’ve made a selection of reasons why you should not worry and continue to trade cryptocurrencies in India.
Reasons why you should not fear the ban in India
Philosophical reason:
In essence, bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies are a philosophy of life, which is based on freedom. The freedom and the right that you have to manage your finances autonomously, without a government or private company interfering with it and what is your capital.
Taking into consideration what has been said; first, it is not surprising that the governments of the world attack or ban cryptocurrencies. This only shows that you are choosing the best option (path) and that you are doing it well. Second, if you share the philosophy of bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies, you should not care for a single moment what the government does, says, or stops doing. In fact, we do not need its approval because with bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies we are autonomous, self-reliant and libertarian — jsut as Satoshi Nakamoto once dreamed and imagined.
Technical reason:
Bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies are technically designed in such a way that we do not need any type of support, protocol and logistics from a specific government.
Blockchain technology (among others) through the Proof of Work and Proof of Stake consensus protocols (which are the most common), is capable of providing operational autonomy, self-sustainability and self-governance. A fact that again shows that DeFi (decentralized finance) does not need the support of any government or private company.
- In case of blocking of Apps and Web:
If the government of India has blocked the website or the Apps of the exchanges, all you have to do is choose to use an International VPN to continue operating with absolute normality. Nothing has happened or changed.
- Your money is and will always be safe:
Nobody, absolutely nobody, is going to take away your capital in bitcoin, ethereum or tether. In fact, no government in the world has the power to do that. This is due to the fact that this capital is supported by the blockchain technology of certain cryptocurrencies, which in turn is supported by a network of international nodes (computers). What this means is that there are no physical headquarters that gather your savings, as is the case with a conventional fiat bank.
With cryptocurrencies, your capital is supported simultaneously by different computers worldwide which validate and audit each other, making it almost impossible for your bitcoins to be cancelled.
The ban on cryptocurrency trading in India will not affect your capital at all. You just need to perform three actions to continue trading normally. These are:
- A decent internet connection.
- Probably the use of an international VPN.
- Keep your computer and Smartphone secure so that no one can access them.
Choose a safe and reliable cryptocurrency exchange. For example, we advise you to trade in Remitano because in addition to having multiple protection security methods such as the two-step Google Authentication, among other things, it gives you the opportunity to buy bitcoin India and other cryptocurrencies in exchange for the INR Rupee.
Conclusion
Decentralized finance is a parallel world where the regulations of governments and even private companies have no place. That is precisely its essence and reason for existing. It is the point of true freedom in all areas of life, especially your finances.
By Marcelo Durán
Writer of newspaper articles.