According to new reports, banks in India are threatening to close the accounts of customers who deal in cryptocurrencies. This news isn’t surprising as India has had a strict ban on cryptocurrencies for a long time now. The report was published by Morgan Creek’s Anthony Pompliano who posted on Twitter, that banks in India are doing everything they can to prevent cryptocurrency trading. The tweet stated that these banks sent out warning statements to their customers about dealing with cryptocurrencies. Any customer who ignores the warning will face account closure.
Banks In India Threaten Users With Account Closure For Dealing In Cryptocurrencies
Banks In India Threaten Users With Account Closure For Dealing In Cryptocurrencies
The tweet by Pomp was as follows:“Banks in India are saying they will close the accounts of customers who deal in cryptocurrencies. These legacy institutions are afraid because they can’t control cryptocurrencies. This is why they have strict rules against them. However, people should have the right to do whatever they like with their money.”
According to the warning, the bank will not need to send any other message before closing the account of a guilty user. This is going to be the only warning notice. So, anyone who goes ahead to keep trading cryptocurrencies after now will have their accounts closed without receiving any other warning. The tweet was originally posted by Indian CryptoGirl who posted:
“Banks in India are forcefully taking our reserved rights for account closure without intimation should we deal in cryptocurrencies. They are taking our rights to do what we like with our money and this is the more reason why we need to build, believe and invest in Bitcoin.”
These are just two of other similar reports. Kotak Mahindra Bank allegedly put its notice on ATM screens and has already closed the account of an individual who traded in cryptocurrencies even after the first warning. The message from the bank was as follows:
“We observed that you performed a cryptocurrency transaction so we would close your account in the next 30 days.”
What This Means For Bitcoin In India
The centralized institutions in India have never had a good opinion of cryptocurrencies. However, the people have refused to be bullied into compliance. After this new information reached social media, users have further strengthened their resolve to trade cryptocurrencies. In fact, they claim that BTC is all but banned in the country. If you recall, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prohibited banks from enabling transactions related to cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.15% |
Following the restriction, a group of stakeholders stepped forward to challenge it. However, the matter was not resolved and the government refused to respond to the demand by the Supreme Court to resolve the matter before October 2018. Some reports alleged that the government is making plans to establish some form of regulatory clarity in the market.
Irrespective of such restrictions, many legacy institutions were still looking for avenues to facilitate cryptocurrency trading in India. Since the government did not declare a definite stance, the restriction by the RBI is nothing more than a de facto regulation. So, trading still goes on one way or another. Even with this new move, dedicated cryptocurrency traders are still going to find a way to trade cryptocurrencies in India.
