Survey Says 54 Per Cent Indians Don’t Want The Government To Legalise Cryptocurrencies

According to the survey, 71 per cent respondents have low or zero trust in digital currencies

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New Delhi: Over half of the people surveyed in India are against legalising cryptocurrencies, according to a recent survey conducted by LocalCircles on Wednesday.

According to a Bloomberg report, the findings of the survey showed 54 per cent don’t want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but instead to tax them like a digital asset held in a foreign country, pollster LocalCircles said.

These researches were based on a survey of 56,000 respondents in the past 15 days.

Only 26 per cent of those polled said cryptocurrencies should be legalised and then taxed in India, while the remaining 20 per cent didn’t have an opinion, it said.

Meanwhile, the central government is mulling to move a Bill in Parliament regulating all private cryptocurrencies. The Bill, which is aimed at creating guidelines to regulate digital currencies, will be produced during the winter session of Parliament.     

This news had already sparked a sell-off on exchanges popular with Indian investors on Wednesday. While the contents of the Bill haven’t been finalised, a proposal to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India has been included.

“While many Indian citizens have invested in cryptocurrencies, the absence of a robust framework leaves investors open to high risks. This is confirmed by the study findings as 71 per cent of the study respondents have low or zero trust in the same,” said Sachin Taparia, chief executive officer, LocalCircles.

Taparia said advertisements on cryptocurrencies, platforms, and exchanges do not adequately highlight the risks. The survey showed 76 per cent wanted advertising to be on hold until regulations were ready.  

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das had issued warnings on trading in digital currencies. Das said that debate and discussions were needed before formal introduction of cryptocurrencies in India. He has also said that even though the value of transactions in virtual coins has gone up, about 80 per cent of the accounts have a balance of less than Rs 2,000.