E-Rupee is finally actual adoption of crypto by the government: Vaibhav Gupta of DesiCrypto

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There’s a fair amount of buzz around the RBI’s CBDC: the e-Rupee. Amongst the conversations and takes in the industry is that of Vaibhav Gupta of DesiCrypto, who took to Twitter to label the e-rupee as “actual adoption” of crypto by the Indian government. Gupta ‘vouched’ for the Digital Rupee being the much-anticipated adoption of crypto by the government of India.

The Reserve Bank of India is reportedly launching the Digital Rupee on a pilot basis, and the use of it will be limited to begin with. The RBI has said that their intention behind issuing the concept note is to raise awareness about central bank digital currencies in the country, as well as spreading knowledge about the many planned features of the Digital Rupee.

Gupta has founded and runs DesiCrypto an Indian guerilla marketing agency centred around crypto assets. He is amongst the many thriving entrepreneurs in the current Indian crypto ecosystem. These views therefore can be regarded as some representation of the broader Indian crypto community, diverse as it is.

For now, the RBI will launch the e-Rupee pilot for some specific use cases to test out how well it performs.

Speaking of the concept note, the central bank said this in a recent statement: “It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a CBDC in India. The note also seeks to explain Reserve Bank’s approach towards introduction of the CBDC”.

The concept note further discusses other key concepts like the technology behind the Digital Rupee, the design choices, possible use cases, issuance methods, and a lot more. The statement included: “As the extent and scope of such pilot launches expand, RBI will continue to communicate about the specific features and benefits of e₹, from time to time”.

Gupta opined in his Twitter thread that the Indian CBDC will very likely be launched in several phases, beginning with the wholesale market to gauge the adoption rates. He further added that, in significant contrast to the usual blockchain-based crypto, the e-Rupee might be designed to avoid user anonymity for security purposes. The RBI may wish to retain centralised control over the Digital Rupee also because it will be the legal tender of the country.

However, Gupta maintains that the blockchain-based Indian CBDC is a positive step towards mainstream crypto adoption in India. “As a crypto entrepreneur - I couldn't be happier. This is a very welcome step and I hope that it educates the masses about digital currencies in general. I vouch for it as an actual adoption of cryptocurrency finally by the Indian government.”

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash