One in two Indians want cryptocurrencies legalized, but support RBI for own digital currency: survey

Over one in two Indians don't want the digital currency legalized in the country, but support the Reserve Bank of India's RBI to roll out its own digital currency, according to a survey by LocalCircles.

76 per cent of the people who surveyed want cryptocurrencies ads to be put on hold until there is clarity over the matter.

The survey states that 71 per cent of Indians have low or zero trust in international cryptocurrencies and 51 per cent want the Indian government to roll out its own digital currency.

It adds that 54 per cent of Indians don't want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but tax them like a digital asset abroad, and 26 per cent say they should be legalised and then taxed in India.

87 per cent of Indian families do not have anyone trading or investing incryptocurrencies, whereas 74 per cent of those surveyed believe that cryptocurrencies advertisements don't highlight the risks involved in an effective manner.

On November 23rd, the Government listed The Bill on Cryptocurrency and Regulation on Official Digital Currency 2021 to be presented in the Parliament's Winter Session, attempting to ban all private cryptocurrencies trading in India while allowing certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies.

The bill came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RBI raised concerns about these digital currencies in the last few weeks. India's digital currency market is estimated to have grown from $923 million in April 2020 to $6.6 billion in April 2021, according to industry experts.

The number of users of cryptocurrencies in India is not exaggerated, according to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. He stated that around 70 - 80 per cent of users have small balances of Rs 500 -- 1000.

Das cautioned against the use ofcryptocurrencies, highlighting the risk it poses to macroeconomic and financial stability.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India said it was concerned about the unregulated growth of cryptocurrencies in India, keeping vulnerable retailers and investors in mind.

A meeting chaired by PM Modi last week discussed the future of cryptocurrencies, despite concerns that it can be used as an avenue for money laundering and financing terror.

Multiple criptocurrency players have decided to halt new advertisements until regulations are set.

In the last 18 months, activists and many citizens have raised concerns about LocalCircles about platforms targeting youngsters through misleading advertisements, promising high returns and highlighting how quickly upper and upper middle classes have gotten into trading in cryptocurrencies, as well as a serious risk of middle and lower income classes getting lured into it. LocalCircles conducted an extensive study over the last 15 days to understand the level of trust Indians have in cryptocurrencies, based on all these developments and strong citizen interest.

It wanted to understand the pulse of the citizens about how the government should handle cryptocurrencies from a regulatory standpoint.

The study attempted to find out if India should introduce its own digital currency, which is managed by the RBI, because of the fact that there is no regulation to guide cryptocurrencies in India.

The study received more than 56,000 responses from citizens in 342 districts of India. 66 per cent of respondents were men, while 34 per cent were women. 42 per cent of respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 33 per cent from Tier 2 and 25 per cent from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

As per reports about the meeting chaired by Prime Minister in mid-November, it was discussed how misleading advertisements are luring many young investors into an unregulated space.

An anonymous developer created a scam that lost millions of dollars in a scam related to the Squid coin.

The value of the coin fell to zero after the coin hit a market value of $30 million before the developers shut it down.

The first question asked the citizens about the level of trust they currently have in cryptocurrencies, taking cognisance of such issues.

Only 1 per cent said they have a high trust incryptocurrencies. 12 per cent said they have an average trust, and 22 per cent said it is low. 49 per cent of Indians surveyed said they have zero or do not trust at all. 16 per cent of respondents did not have an opinion. 71 per cent of Indians studied have low or zero trust in cryptocurrencies, while 1 per cent have high trust in them.