Cryptocurrency presents a legitimate case of macroeconomic risks and there is a need to regulate it, said Minister of State for IT and electronics Rajeev Chandrashekar on Tuesday. Chandrashekar said while speaking to Times Network’s India Digital Fest that, “ it is a very legit case that crypto represents macroeconomic risks. It represents many other types of risk. FTX and other cases reaffirm that crypto is not business as usual and crypto is not innovation”. The Minister said that countries and central banks around the world are grappling with the problems around crypto. 

“In India, crypto is not illegal if you buy them through legitimate channels of LRS(Liberalised Remittances Scheme) which are RBI approved dispensation of foreign exchange. It is your choice to lose money or make money, and the government does not get in the business of where you invest in and what you not invest in. But we certainly have the obligation to explain to the Indian citizens that you cant exchange the rupee for crypto. RBI is very clear on this and we should respect their decision. They have said CBDC (central bank digital currency) is the route, and I have no problem with that. It is the best way to do that without creating any downside risk to the economy.” 

Speaking about the slowdown in the funding of startups and the digital economy which has been noticed across the world and in India, the minister said that he is not very concerned as “peaks and troughs and ups and downs and business cycles are  very inherent nature of startups”. He also said, “We are seeing a cycle that would have played anyway, also people are getting smart about where the value lies and where the IP is.  Certainly, Covid and the stimulus in the US and European economies, and the Russia-Ukraine war have caused some significant headwinds on risk aversion. People are more careful and prudent, which leads to valuation corrections.