Srinagar: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is all set to introduce a digital currency, which will use a private blockchain platform, and is billed to reduce the transaction settlement processes.
So how would the digital currency be like?
The digital currency will be like cash and give the central bank tighter control over it.
Last month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said that RBI has reservations regarding cryptocurrencies and it is working on its own digital currency.
Will it be different than cryptocurrencies?
The digital currency, Das said, will be different from cryptocurrencies, adding that the central bank does not want to be left behind in technological revolution and the benefits of blockchain technology need to be capitalised.
RBI’s private blockchain platform will be like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on which government and private companies can build their own apps. While there have been initial discussions on the issue, the final decision to start the work on it hasn’t been taken yet.
The central bank wants to have complete control over the digital currency, reports said.
“RBI didn’t want a distributed ledger like bitcoin, which uses public blockchain. RBI is essentially interested in possibilities and applications in fraud prevention, counterfeiting and some of the specific benefits of blockchain”, RBI sources were quoted by news agencies.