Pundit Urges India to Allocate $10B of Forex Reserve to XRP and Bitcoin

A top financial expert urges the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to establish a strategic crypto reserve featuring major assets like Bitcoin and XRP.

Aravind made the recommendation today, calling on India to immediately create a strategic crypto reserve that the Reserve Bank of India will run. He suggested India start the initiative with four major crypto assets: XRP, BTC, SOL, and ETH.

He said India could mirror the United States’ crypto reserve structure to establish its digital asset stockpile. This indicates that India does not have to invent its crypto reserve from scratch. Instead, it can develop one using the structure the U.S. has already established.

Not a Big Deal

Interestingly, he recommends that India start its reserve with a minimum allocation of $10 billion. Many might consider the minimum allocation for India’s crypto reserve as a modest bet compared to the country’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserve.

India’s Forex reserve is currently above $650 billion, according to data from Trading Economics. Therefore, Aravind believes establishing a crypto reserve with a minimum allocation of $10 billion is not a big deal for India.

Furthermore, he suggested that the Indian government could raise the funds by exchanging some of its foreign-exchange reserve, which is primarily held in ‘soon to be weak’ fiat currencies.

U.S. Crypto Reserve Initiative

It is noteworthy that Aravind has been advocating for the creation of a strategic crypto reserve in India. His advocacy peaked last month after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the creation of one.

The executive order mandated the creation of a crypto reserve that will hold only Bitcoin and a digital asset stockpile for altcoins. Before the directive, Trump named five cryptocurrencies, including XRP, SOL, ETH, and ADA, as potential candidates of the reserve.

While Aravind urges the Indian government to convert some foreign exchange reserves to crypto, the U.S. aims to create one using digital assets obtained through civil and criminal forfeitures.

At press time, the blockchain wallet holding the U.S. government’s forfeited crypto assets is worth $17.11 billion, with Bitcoin accounting for $16.73 billion of this valuation. According to the executive order, the U.S. will not raise funds to grow its digital asset stockpile. However, it will only grow the country’s Bitcoin reserve by raising funds through ways outside the country’s budget.

Since the U.S. ordered the creation of its crypto reserve, other countries have been debating whether to follow its lead. While countries like South Korea and Japan dismissed the notion of holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset, others like Brazil believe the premier cryptocurrency is a crucial tool for national prosperity.