Over half of Indians don't want legalisation of cryptocurrency: Survey

New Delhi: More than half of the people in an opinion poll in India, opined against the legalisation of cryptocurrencies, pollster LocalCircles said on Wednesday. Fifty-four per cent of people in the survey opined that instead of legalising these currencies, tax them like a digital asset held in a foreign country, Bloomberg reported.

The survey was done on 56,000 people and carried out during the last 15 days. It comes out as the government proposed a law to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies and create an official digital coin.

While 26 per cent supported cryptocurrencies, saying they should be legalised and taxed in India, the final 20 per cent didn't have a view on the issue, LocalCircles said.

On Wednesday, the government's move to prepare a bill to regulate digital coins had sparked a sell-off on exchanges popular with Indian investors. Though the contents of the bill are not finalised yet, a proposal to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India has been included.

The CEO of LocalCiricles said that while many Indian citizens have invested in cryptocurrencies, the lack of a robust framework leaves investors at high risk. The study findings confirm that 71 per cent of the respondents of the survey have low or zero trust in the currencies. The advertisements on cryptocurrencies, platforms and exchanges do not address the risks adequately. The survey showed 76 per cent of people wanted advertising to be on hold until regulations are made, Taparia added.

The survey further stated that around 87 per cent of families don't have anyone invested in cryptocurrencies. Only 5 per cent responded in favour of continuing cryptocurrency platform advertisements, but 74 per cent believe that these advertisements are not highlighting risks effectively. Meanwhile, nearly 51 per cent supported India rolling out its digital currency managed by RBI. But, only 1 per cent have high trust in these currencies.