Blanket Ban on Crypto is Unlikely in India: Official

India will not introduce a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies as neighboring China has done, Quartz India reported, citing an anonymous Indian official.

Crypto trading may be allowed if it is regulated “as a commodity,” according to the report.

“I don’t think anyone is really thinking of banning it altogether. The issue here is about regulating the trade and we need to know where the money is coming from. Allowing it as a commodity may let us better regulate the trade and so that is being looked at,” the official was quoted as saying.

He went on to explain that “trading is not a criminal offence,” adding that “most of us trade in various asset classes like the stock market, so how is this any different? What has to be in place is a mechanism to be sure that the money used is not illegal money. To track its source is the most important thing.”

As Cryptonews.com reported earlier this week, Indian cryptocurrency exchanges have been forced to reinvent their business models after the Reserve Bank of India decided to crack down on cryptocurrency trading back in April.

The ban from April targeted commercial banks who were doing business with crypto exchanges by forcing them to stop accepting deposits from these customers, effectively shutting down the market for fiat-to-crypto trading in India.