Source: https://cryptopotato.com/250m-fund-to-invest-in-polkadot-and-cardano-launched-in-india/

China has been at the forefront of developing its digital yuan or DECP [Digital Currency Electronic Payment] but has continued to maintain a distance from the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The growing crackdown on Bitcoin mining firms in China has been impacting the sentiment in the area and according to reports, it has now extended a ban on mining projects in Inner Mongolia.

The country will end all cryptocurrency projects associated with mining. This decision followed China’s effort to meet energy efficiency targets. The large amounts of energy consumed by crypto and other industries like steel, coke, and methanol production have resulted in the government’s stringent decision to ban mining activity in the region.

The autonomous region of Inner Mongolia has been a hub for cheap power due to which the mining industry was drawn to it.

The aim of the region has been to cut emission per unit of gross domestic product by 3% this year and gradually control the massive boom in the consumption of standard coal. Although small, the region accounted for 8% of global Bitcoin mining hash power.

Source: Cambridge University

China has a 65% hold of the total network hash power allotted to Bitcoin and the above map highlighted that among other regions Xinjiang was the highest contributor to the hash rate in a month.

The abundant supply of coal and the relative remoteness of the region made it more convenient and cheap for miners to set base here. However, no strict actions have been taken to curb this problem by the Chinese government. If the country continued its mission to become more energy-efficient, it won’t be long before miners have to find alternatives to cheap electricity available in various regions in China.

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/china-restricts-crypto-mining-in-inner-mongolia

India’s central bank has recognized the potential benefits of central bank digital currencies but not without including a few pitfalls.

The Reserve Bank of India offered its assessment of CBDCs as part of its report on currency and finance issued on Feb. 28.

As part of the report, the RBI noted that several countries are exploring the creation of their own sovereign national digital currency.

According to the central bank’s report, CBDCs can help to promote financial inclusion and transactional transparency. The RBI also stated that national digital currencies could be useful as an instrument of monetary transmission by helping to engineer public consumption towards specific categories of products and services.

Detailing the benefits of CBDCs, the RBI also remarked that digital counterparts to sovereign fiat currency could be used by central banks to pump “helicopter money.”

In its analysis, the RBI also expressed concerns about the potential negative impacts of CBDCs on the legacy financial system, noting:

“CBDC is, however, not an unmixed blessing — it poses a risk of disintermediation of the banking system, more so if the commercial banking system is perceived to be fragile.”

For countries with significant credit markets, the RBI argued that CBDCs could threaten the primacy of commercial banks as the primary channel for the transmission of monetary policy.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, India is looking to emulate China in creating its own CBDC. According to RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, the central bank is “very much in the game” of developing a digital rupee.

However, the RBI report did not include any details about the central bank’s digital rupee project. In another portion of the document, the central bank did concede that internationalization of the rupee was inevitable but added that such a move would complicate monetary policy formulation and implementation.

With several countries looking to create their own sovereign digital currencies, CBDC interoperability is becoming a concern among stakeholders. Meanwhile, reports indicate that China’s digital yuan will have a more domestic focus.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/central-bank-digital-currency-a-mixed-blessing-says-rbi