Subramanian Swamy shares views on Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies, calls it 'unstoppable'

Rajya Sabha MP and noted economist Subramanian Swamy in a recent webinar called cryptocurrencies the “subject of the future” and noted that digital currencies are the latest development with regards to paying for the exchange of goods. In episode 12 of ‘Cryptocurrencies: Navigating Pros, Cons & Human Impact,’ on his platform Virat Hindustan Sangam's YouTube channel, Dr Swamy talked about the newest technological trend in the relatively unfashionable subject of currencies that has hooked individuals as young as teenagers to investments and financial exchanges.

The Rajya Sabha MP first gave a history of the beginning of goods exchange, barter, which included difficulties in matching two parties' demands. After running through Gold-backed paper currencies, then the delinking with gold and predominance of Fiat currencies which are the current standard, Dr Swamy came to Cryptocurrencies.

On Cryptocurrencies and their prime characteristic of decentralisation, Dr Subramanian Swamy said “the next step is frightening for traditionalists like me” because the next step after paper currencies is that “there will be no government” but “there will be direct bilateral exchanges through the computer.” While raising the questions budding with the sudden craze of cryptocurrencies, the Rajya Sabha MP noted that a government official in 2019 told the Supreme Court that cryptocurrency was a “Ponzi scheme” and called for such exchanges to be banned to protect the interests of the investors. The RBI's move to ban cryptocurrencies has been cast aside.

“Government of India is resisting its coming but then in many countries, it is now becoming an integral part,” noted Swamy concerning digital currencies before opening the questions to the panellists. He also said that it is “unstoppable” and therefore, called for its greater understanding. 

Dr Subramanian Swamy's daughter Gitanjali Swamy was also in the discussion and likened Cryptocurrencies' decentralisation to Indian weddings, wherein she said we invite so many guests so the groom cannot later turn and say he never married - a very useful analogy. 

What are cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrency is decentralised digital money and is based on blockchain technology. Even though cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, Bitcoin have gained popularity in recent months, there are several thousand different types of cryptocurrencies in circulation. Digital currencies can be utilised to buy regular goods and services, but many investors buy these cryptocurrencies as assets like stocks or precious metals. 

How does cryptocurrency work? Any digital currency currently in circulation is basically a medium of exchange that is not physical in its form, it is encrypted and decentralised. Unlike paper currencies, there is no central authority for digital money that manages or maintains its value. Instead, the value of cryptocurrencies is broadly distributed among their users through the internet. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and first outlined in principle by Satoshi Nakamoto in a 2008 paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”

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