Indian investors taking ‘alternate’ route to bet on cryptocurrencies abroad: Report

With the liberalised remittance facility, typically used by wealthy residents to invest abroad, shut for investing in cryptocurrencies, Indian investors are adopting overseas direct investment (ODI) to bet on exotic digital assets.

These individuals use a non-banking finance company to sponsor an overseas investment company in financial centres like Dubai, and the funds used are placed into securities and assets abroad, including cryptocurrencies, a report by The Economic Times said.

Considering the RBI’s concerns about cryptocurrencies, private and foreign banks have been asking investors remitting funds under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to give an undertaking that the money will not be used to purchase the digital assets, the report said, allowing ODI to emerge as an avenue to investors.