India’s Supreme Court allows financial institutions to facilitate services related to cryptocurrency

India’s Supreme Court has overturned a two-year old central bank ban on financial institutions facilitating services related to cryptocurrencies, according to finextra.com. Within hours of the ruling, the CoinDCX exchange integrated bank account transfers in the country, letting users purchase and trade on its platform through transfers.

In April 2018, amid concerns around consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, the RBI ruled that regulated entities „shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling virtual currencies”.

The move saw cryptocurrency trading volumes plummet in the country, prompting industry players to petition for a reversal.

Now, after two years, a three-judge Supreme Court bench has ruled that, although the RBI had the power to take action, it did not show proportionality and there is no evidence of any damage suffered by its regulated entities ahead of the ban.

Sumit Gupta, CEO, CoinDCX, says: “India’s crypto environment is going to have a transformation after the court verdict. Because of this, crypto-INR pairs are going to see a massive jump as new investors (both institutional and retail) can now invest in the crypto markets without any hesitation or scepticism.”

However, problems still face the industry in India, with the government considering a panel recommendation to ban all private cryptocurrencies.