Indian banks have ‘informally’ begun restricting deposits into Indian cryptocurrency exchanges.
IPL ads, Dogecoin frenzy may have triggered ‘informal’ curbs on crypto exchanges
Being in the spotlight could cost crypto exchanges dearly
The Economic Times speculates that this may have been because of two reasons:
- one, the recent trading frenzy, including in India, in the parody Dogecoin. The coin has gained 12000% since the beginning of 2021.
- two, the recent aggressive advertising on the IPL by crypto exchanges in India including WazirX and Coinswitch Kuber. WazirX highlighted bitcoin’s high recent gains in its ads.
What is also notable is how restrictions have been applied without any formal trail:
None of the banks or gateways have, however, issued any written instructions stating the rationale behind these curbs, triggering confusion in the country’s nascent cryptocurrency industry.
“Since there have been no formal instructions or circular issued by the RBI, you can’t even protest,” said an industry source. “It’s like a sort of stealth way of creating issues for crypto exchanges, which is very unfortunate.”
As of Wed, 12 May, deposits into WazirX continue to be unavailable:
