India's central bank backs crypto ban
Reuters-cited 2026 government documents show the RBI wants banks insulated from crypto and private stablecoins, while tax officials say offshore, wallet and P2P activity leaves most reported traders outside the tax net.
India's central bank has reiterated support for a crypto policy "inclined towards prohibition," with Reuters reporting that internal May and June 2026 documents show the Reserve Bank of India wants banks and financial institutions barred from holding, trading or taking exposure to crypto assets and privately issued stablecoins. The same reporting said tax officials found that fewer than 25% of 645,000 individuals who conducted crypto transactions in FY2022-23 disclosed them on tax returns, citing offshore exchanges, private wallets and rupee-denominated peer-to-peer trades as hard to trace and value. The documents also estimated that about 39 million Indians held roughly $2.1 billion in digital assets at the end of May 2026, underscoring the scale of a market that still lacks a comprehensive crypto law.
- stablecoin: A crypto token designed to maintain a stable value, often by being linked to a fiat currency.
- seigniorage: Revenue a government earns from issuing currency, beyond the cost of producing it.
- virtual digital assets: India's policy and tax term for crypto assets and certain other digital tokens.