India’s RBI Revives Push to Cut Banks’ Exposure to Crypto, Private Stablecoins

The Reserve Bank of India is reviving a policy push to insulate the banking sector from crypto assets and privately issued stablecoins.

Cointelegraph reported on July 3 that RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain and Executive Director P. Vasudevan presented the central bank’s digital-asset stance during an appearance before the Indian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance.

In a background report submitted to the committee, the RBI recommended banning the use of crypto assets for payments and settlements and limiting banks’ exposure to the sector. It also said applying existing financial rules to crypto assets could legitimize speculative assets and give users the false impression that they are safe. The central bank added that regulated financial products such as tokenized government and corporate bonds should be distinguished from crypto assets so the tokenization industry is not held back.

The proposal is similar to steps the RBI took in 2018. At the time, the central bank directed regulated financial institutions to stop providing crypto trading and related services, effectively cutting crypto exchanges off from India’s banking system. India’s Supreme Court struck down the measure in March 2020, ruling that it violated the principle of proportionality.

Separately, India ranked first in Chainalysis’s 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. The RBI, however, reportedly objected to the methodology used by the private-sector firm to calculate the rankings.