HDFC Bank and SBI Cards sent emails to their customers, last week, warning them about the risks of trading in crypto-currencies. While HDFC Bank has instructed customers to disclose the nature of their transactions with crypto-exchanges, SBI Cards has warned its customers that they should not use their credit cards to deposit funds for crypto-trading purposes. While HDFC Bank sent emails to specific clients, citing their account numbers, SBI Cards issued a general notice to its customers. MediaNama has seen a copy of both emails. In the last few months, private banks have been revoking deposit and payments services to crypto-currency exchanges in the country. While speculation is rife as to the reasons for this move, bankers and industry executives have said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informally said that they are comfortable with the level of crypto-trading activity in the country. In January this year, the government informed Parliament that it would introduce a new piece of legislation that would ban crypto-currency trading, mining and investments in the country while providing the RBI with the requisite powers to begin work on a digital currency. However, since the announcement, the government seems to have watered down its earlier stance. The Finance Minister said that the proposed legislation would adopt a 'calibrated approach' and that investors would be given a moratorium period to square off their crypto-holdings. Further, the government has made amendments to the company disclosure rules classifying crypto-currency holdings as digital assets. The disclosures apply to…
