The Supreme Court of India has struck out the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) controversial ban on banks offering services to cryptocurrency-related companies.
The Reserve Bank of India which is the country’s central bank, has since April 2018 imposed a blanket ban restricting banks in the country from dealing in transactions involving cryptocurrency.
According to the 180-page ruling delivered earlier today (March 4) by Justices Rohinton Nariman, S Ravindra Bhat, and V Ramasubramanian, the court ruled that the RBI’s action was “a disproportionate and unconstitutional restriction on the petitioners fundamental rights”. As it notes: “writ petitions are allowed and the Circular dated 06- 04-2018 is set aside.”
The judgement is a climax of petitions by public and crypto industry players, represented by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI); with the first hearings held over two weeks in January of this year.
IAMAI is a not-for-profit industry body whose mandate is to appeal to governments on behalf of internet industry consumers, shareholders and investors. Members include Yahoo! India, Apple, eBay, Unocoin and Etsy.
In the wake of the announcement, crypto exchanges in India such as Zebpay which had closed operations due to the RBI ban are now live.
Zebpay wrote on Twitter: “We will not stop here. We will continue to engage with the government to bring positive regulations through legislation.”
Similarly CEO of WazriX exchange – Nischal Shetty remarked:
This a “historic” day for the Indian crypto community. The ruling will help create jobs as more crypto and blockchain startups open up. We will also see venture firms starting to invest in India now, who previously stayed away due to the banking ban…more traders and investors will also involve in the space.
Shetty added that WazirX has already started seeing benefits of the ruling, as thousands of dormant acccounts on the platform are getting activated today.
Other crypto influencers and enthusiasts have also hailed the ruling as a big step towards mass adoption.
With the Supreme Court’s unique verdict, legal and regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies in India has been put to rest. Bitcoiners and the general public can now set aside uncertainties while dealing with cryptocurrencies.
Congratulations to India’s crypto community!!!
