Indian ICICI Bank to curb remittances linked to digital assets

One of India’s largest banks, ICICI Bank, has warned customers against remitting funds if they are intended for the purchase of cryptocurrencies or have been obtained as a result of such activity in the past. Cointelegraph reports.

The stance is reflected in the updated form of the relevant application.

The above transfer is NOT intended for investments/purchases of bitcoins/cryptocurrencies/virtual currencies (such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin […] or any others), according to the document.

ICICI Bank justified the move on the basis of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, enacted in 1999 by the Parliament of IndiaForeign Exchange Management Act.

The report noted that other banks had similarly acted after the central bank barred private individuals and companies from services related to digital currencies.

In March 2020, the Supreme Court overturned this directive of the monetary regulator. However, in May 2021, media reported that the Reserve Bank of India unofficially urged banks to terminate relations with bitcoin exchanges. This led to difficulties for clients of trading platforms.

As Bloomberg reports, the Indian government is considering regulating cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

According to Chainalysis, the value of Indian citizens’ cryptocurrency investments in 2020 rose from $200 million to $38.8 billion.

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