Central Bank Of India Officials Call Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto A Fictional Character

India's top central bank official has called Satoshi Nakamoto a fictional character and crypto is worse than a Ponzi scheme. (Photo; Ewan Kennedy - Unsplash)

JAKARTA – Recently, a high-ranking official from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), T. Rabi Sankar called Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto a fictional character. Apart from that, Sankar also derided crypto assets and called them “worse” than a Ponzi scheme.

On February 14, a technology conference organized by the Indian Banks Association was attended by officials of the central bank. The RBI Deputy Governor proposed a complete ban on all cryptocurrencies in the country on the grounds of high risk and financial stability.

Nevertheless, Sankar acknowledged Satoshi Nakamoto as the first person to effectively solve the problem of double spending and electronic money. In his statement at the beginning, it seemed that Sankar looked down on the Bitcoin creator who used the pseudonym.

Sankar stated that Satoshi was "a fictional character or person or company or other entity, no one knows yet."

Reporting from Beincrypto, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto was not revealed. Its inventor disappeared from the radar on December 12, 2010, two years after publishing the Bitcoin whitepaper. The crypto community and privacy enthusiasts idolize Nakamoto as a symbol of libertarian values.

Sankar Calls Crypto Worse Than Ponzi Scheme

However, Sankar insisted that cryptocurrencies cannot be defined as “currencies, assets or commodities.” Attempts to regulate it would be "in vain," he said.

“They [cryptocurrencies] have no underlying cash flow, no intrinsic value… crypto is similar to a Ponzi scheme, and maybe even worse. All these factors lead to the conclusion that banning cryptocurrencies is probably the most recommended option for India,” said Sankar.

The deputy governor of India's central bank added that Ponzi schemes are invested in income-generating assets, while digital currencies are simply "gambling instruments." He accused crypto assets of disrupting the government-controlled monetary system, leaving the nation of 1.38 billion people manipulated by private digital currency issuers.

“This class of cryptocurrency products is fundamentally designed to bypass established financial systems, and at the scale of larger governments themselves,” added Sankar.

“The fact that they are anonymous, decentralized systems that operate virtually purely makes cryptocurrencies very attractive to illegal and illegitimate transactions that have largely been filtered out of the formal financial system.”

Bitcoin Is Not a Store of Value

Sankar scoffs at the idea that a ban on crypto assets will stifle blockchain-related innovation. He said it was akin to believing that a ban on nuclear weapons would hinder the development of nuclear physics. Sankar dismissed the argument that bitcoin (BTC) is a store of value or medium of exchange, saying:

“We have examined the arguments put forward by those advocating that cryptocurrencies should be regulated and found that none of them withstand basic scrutiny.”

India's central bank governor Shaktikanta Das last week criticized digital assets for not having "underlying value, not even tulips." He said they are a "threat to our macro-economic stability and financial stability." While there appears to be inconsistency over cryptocurrency policies between various government bodies in India, the country's finance minister insists there is "complete harmony."