Digital rupee to be issued by RBI using blockchain and other technologies, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Digital rupee will be issued using blockchain and other technologies by RBI starting 2022-23. This will give a big boost to the economy, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Budget 2022.

The digital rupee will be a digital depiction of an Indian rupee supported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

India isn't the only country attempting to implement a digital legal tender system. Various central banks throughout the world are experimenting with projects such as the digital dollar, e-yuan, and digital euro.

Unlike Bitcoin, which is a cryptocurrency based on the blockchain technology that allows users to remain anonymous, the RBI will endorse the official digital currency. For all transactions, the digital rupee is equivalent to a physical rupee. The value of a digital rupee will be the same as the value of a physical rupee.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value. They are volatile, and unexpected and rapid decreases in value due to external circumstances can offer significant dangers to investors.