Crypto not currency; needs to be regulated as asset: ex-RBI DG Gandhi

He expressed apprehension that there is a possibility of using this virtual asset for criminal activity in absence of regulation and there are numerous instances indicating that.

Former RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi on Tuesday made a case for treating and regulating crypto as a separate asset class with a view to enabling governments around the world to effectively deal with illegal activities associated with virtual currencies. After quite a lot of debate over the years, he said, people have fully understood that crypto cannot be a currency because the fundamental element of a currency— that it should be a legal tender— is missing in this case. He said that in this case, one cannot compel a crypto currency to be accepted by another person as it is not a legal tender.