Digital Rupee Will Boost Digital Economy, Says PM Modi; Bitcoin, Ethereum Rise

While addressing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and leaders on Budget 2022-23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the digital rupee will open up new opportunities for the Fintech sector and will give a big boost to the digital economy, according to various media reports. "This digital rupee, which is our physical currency now, will have a digital form and it will be controlled by RBI. It can be exchanged with physical currency. Digital Rupee will open up new opportunities for the Fintech sector," PM Modi said. 

Meanwhile, in cryptocurrency market, the price of Bitcoin was up by 0.42 per cent and was trading at $38,636.70 at 6:00 pm, while its dominance in the crypto market is currently at 41.10 per cent, down by 0.18 per cent in the last 24 hours.   

Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,784.69, with a rise of 0.44 per cent in the last 24 hours, while Binance Coin (BNB) was down by 0.03 per cent over the same period and was trading at $383.70. Solana (SOL) up by 3.64 per cent to $110.76 and Cardano (ADA) was up by 1.34 per cent to $1.07. 

Meme Coins  

All major meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogelon Mars (ELON), and Samoyedcoin (SAMO) have shown a minimal change in the last 24 hours. 

Dogecoin was up by 1.37 per cent while trading at $0.1447 at 6:00 pm. Rival Shiba Inu was down by 0.18 per cent and was trading at $0.00002163, Dogelon Mars fell by 2.29 per cent and was trading at $0.0000008543, while Samoyedcoin was trading at $0.02377 and recorded a fall of 0.73 per cent.   

Overall Scenario   

The global crypto market cap was at $1.78 trillion, registering an increase of 0.77 per cent in the last 24 hours, while the total crypto market volume was $60.75 billion, down by 12.94 per cent.   

Graft (GRFT) became the biggest gainer, recording a rise of 452.43 per cent, it was trading at $0.0003839 at 6:00 pm. On the other hand, Snowtomb LOT (SLOT) witnessed maximum loss, falling 84.11 per cent; it was trading at $905.05. 

Latest Update  

Finance Secretary Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan told ANI that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum will never become a legal tender. He also noted that only Digital Rupee issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would be the legal tender. 

Moreover, at least eight people, including a policeman, have been arrested in Pune's Pimpri Chinchwad for allegedly kidnapping a man to extort Bitcoin cryptocurrency worth Rs. 300 crore, the police informed on Wednesday, according to NDTV.