Petition To Reverse Indian Central Bank's Crypto Ban Gains 17,000 Signatures

A Change.org petition for "Mak[ing] India at the forefront of Blockchain Applications Revolution" in response to the Indian central bank ending all dealings with crypto-related accounts this week has gained over 17,000 thousand signature since going online April 5.

According to the petition, the Reserve Bank of India's April 5 ban - which tech investor Tim Draper had recently called "a huge mistake" - could lead to an increase of irregular cash trading of cryptocurrencies in India.

The ban could take away potential revenue to the government from crypto exchanges, and instigate a crypto market price drop "Due to the knee jerk reaction in which prices got impacted".

In addition to the petition, resistance to the ban was also seen from individuals inside the community.

Ajeet Khurana, CEO of Indian crypto exchange Zebpay, tweeted boldly on April 5 "No way I am stopping."

CEO of Indian crypto exchange WazirX, Nischal Shetty, tweeted directly to RBI, asking them to "Reconsider" and "Think progressively".

US, Japan, South Korea go towards regulating Cryptos so that their country progresses while RBI decides to block Indians from getting involved in the crypto revolution.

The petition also mentions RBI's interest in creating their own digital currency, which was officially expressed the same day as the ban, April 5.

RBI's crypto ban is not the same as the country-wide crypto ban that was rumoured earlier this year.

Unocoin, one of India's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, stated that no banks have terminated relationships with local trading platforms, and that the Indian central bank's recent statement does not change the legal status of cryptocurrencies in India.