Cryptocurrency might trigger the next financial catastrophe, according to India’s RBI chief.

Shaktikanta Das, the RBI governor, recently shared his views against the cryptocurrency industry. He said that private cryptocurrency would lead to a financial disaster in the future. At the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, Das made the case that unbacked private cryptocurrencies—those that are not regulated by banks or governments—are only instruments for speculation. 

He said that the cryptocurrencies don’t have any intrinsic worth. As per him, cryptocurrencies carry significant inherent hazards to the stability of our economy and finances, and he says that he has not yet heard a convincing explanation as to what public benefit or purpose they serve.

Das continued by saying that the wisest course of action going forward would be to completely outlaw cryptocurrency in India, which added fuel to those thoughts. According to what he has said, private cryptocurrency trading is all speculation, and he still thinks it should be outlawed because, if allowed to be regulated and grow, private cryptocurrencies will cause the next financial disaster.

In the last few weeks, many U.S. senators have taken the chance to criticize digital assets. This is another time that a well-known person in politics or finance has said that the crypto industry is to blame for FTX’s fall. The recently extradited Sam Bankman Fried-led collapse of FTX was also cited by the RBI chairman as an illustration of this danger. After the events of the last year, including the most recent incident with FTX, he said that he didn’t believe we needed to say anything further about our position. 

Das spoke far more favorably of digital currencies issued by central banks, highlighting the RBI’s aggressive efforts to launch the digital rupee. He also said that India has been at the forefront of the digital revolution in this century, and that more central banks will start using digital currencies in the near future. 

The RBI has always been skeptical about the value of cryptocurrencies and has often asked what they are worth. Das’ most recent remarks demonstrate that the situation is only getting worse since, as recently as June, the bank had rated the industry at the bottom of its list of systemic concerns.