Advertise Jobs at BTCManager BITCOIN PRICE: 2,709.73 HIGH: 2,744.20 LOW: 2,663.06 BTC = USD #TRENDING STORIES Next Event Money 20/20 Europe • June 26-28, 2017 European-focused event on Fin-tech, providing an overlook of the disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow… → BTCMANAGER TWITTER: TOTAL TWEETS: 3850 total FOLLOWERS: 16164 official hashtag:#BTCManager BTCMANAGER Has Bitcoin Become Illegal in India?Is India on the brink of becoming the next China?Did the central bank make bitcoin illegal?A newspaper reports that bitcoin has become illegal in India, but an Indian exchange denies this.A committee shall decide who is right.According to the Economic Times of India the Indian central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), pointed out that the use of virtual currencies like bitcoin is not authorized by the RBI and “could result in the breach of anti-money laundering provisions.” The RBI already warned users, holders, and traders of the risks that the use of bitcoin could result in.

In a somehow obscure quote Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance, indicated that users of bitcoin might run into trouble without knowing: "The absence of counterparties in usage of virtual currencies including Bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities in anonymous/pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism laws."Megwhal further explained that the creation of virtual currencies as a means of payment are not authorized by the central bank.The Indian exchange ZebPay, however, disputes that a criminalization of Bitcoin is at issue: “No, that is not true.Nothing has changed regarding bitcoin’s legal status in India this week.In our opinion, bitcoin is not illegal.Bitcoin is legal under all existing laws.It’s business as usual at all Indian bitcoin exchanges, including Zebpay.” But, ZebPay continues, “there’s no smoke without fire.” Many new technologies stroke fear, “especially among regulators as it is their responsibility to protect us.” Bitcoin is no exception, and ZebPay appreciates the “concerns of regulators and politicians.” The recent notice of the RBI was a reaction on a prominent Member of Parliament who indicated that Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme.

Ponzi schemes have become, ZebPay explains, unfortunately common.They use different methods to accept and transfer payments.Most use Rupee, but some, unfortunately, also use bitcoin.And like the Rupee is not a Ponzi, neither is bitcoin.“In fact for a few months now, we have been regularly warning our users to beware of such Ponzi schemes on our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.” The idea that bitcoin is criminalized is a result of the misunderstanding that bitcoin is not a currency, but a Ponzi scheme.If you ban Bitcoin because it is used in Ponzi schemes, you also also should ban the internet or smartphones.Another publication interpreted the statement of Meghwal in a way that Bitcoin is not regulated, but not illegal.However, it is illegal to do things with bitcoin you are not allowed to do with Rupee, like money laundering or drug trafficking.Which might be a first step of regulating Bitcoin as something that is legal by itself.According to ZebPay, recently an inter-ministerial committee was founded to study the legality of bitcoin in India.

It is scheduled to announce a response until April 20, 2017.Until then bitcoin is neither banned in India nor legalized, it is somewhere in an abeyance.That bitcoin draws attention by Indian regulators is no surprise and has been only a question of time.Since mid-2016 demand for bitcoin has risen rapidly in India.After the government decided in November 2016 to withdraw 80 percent of the circulating cash, the interest in bitcoin grew at an even faster rate.bitcoin atm russiaBusinesses ‘E-gold’ bitcoin shines past $1,500 Mining Things to Consider When Starting a Bitcoin Mining Operation Businesses Bitcoin at record high of $1400 on rising global acceptance; all eyes now on India Businesses Indian government to make Bitcoin legality decision Businesses Retail Majors in Japan Rush to Adopt Bitcoin Payments Technology Bitcoin regulation in 2017 Businesses UK Looks to Strengthen FinTech Ties with India Businesses Bitcoin is taking off Businesses Announce bitcoins and cryptocurrencies as legal Businesses Blockchain Academy Partners Satoshi Centre to Boost Bitcoin Education in Botswana Businesses Japan Declares Sale of Bitcoin Exempt from Consumption Tax Businesses A New Tool Might Finally Make Banks Comfortable With Bitcoin Businesses Yet Another Record High for Bitcoin Businesses Is Bitcoin Outshining Gold?bitcoin rush review

Businesses Time for Indian Digital Rupee, Says Former Head of Lehman Brothers India Education How Blockchain Could Rewrite The Internet And Humanity Itself Businesses Bitcoin Price Reaches All-Time High, Continues Upward Trend In 2017 Education Funny money: Is bitcoin the new global currency?Businesses Groups Partner to Examine Bitcoin’s Blockchain Application in Securitization Marketsbitcoin hur köper manBitcoin, the eight-year old virtual currency, is lesser known in India but has been gaining decent traction in the country over the past few months.ethereum per dollarHowever, the government's decision to demonetize two currency notes has sparked new interest in bitcoin and other cashless mechanisms.bitcoin value 2020

(See also, India Discontinues 500 and 1000 Rupee Currency Notes) While talking to Investopedia, Sandeep Geonka, co-founder of Zebpay, said that his bitcoin exchange is now adding about 50,000 new users per month.He said, “We hail the unprecedented move by PM Modi's vision for a cash less and corruption free India.More people have started looking at bitcoins and interest has surged.bitcoin huffingtonWe are working hard so that bitcoins and this technology can help fulfill the government's dream.” The price of bitcoin is currently hovering around $712 (Coindesk), which converts to approximately INR 47,725.awesome bitcoin minerHowever, due to the rise in demand, the virtual currency is currently trading at INR 55,735 in India.bitcoin chart in rupees“We are seeing an increased demand for bitcoin and India clearly has shortage of supply, making the demand and lack of liquidity push up prices of bitcoin as compared to global exchanges” said Mohit Kalra, CEO, Coinsecure.bitcoin liechtenstein

(Related reading, see: India: Migration, Remittance & Bitcoin) Most exchanges reported that the initial rush towards bitcoin following the ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes was due to people's intent to park cash against bitcoins.Bitcoin exchanges were approached to know if bitcoins could be bought against cash, which isn’t possible.Buying of bitcoins in India is only possible through a linked bank account and after completion of formal know-your-customer (KYC) procedure.Although there aren’t any laid out regulations by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on bitcoins, exchanges dealing in the virtual currency are ensuring that they are on the right side of law and thus in sync with any of government’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines.Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government issued currencies.In a nutshell, bitcoin offers a quick, cheap and efficient medium for transactions.

It is becoming popular especially in regions which suffer from inadequate banking facilities.It is being used by speculators and investors to gain from price patterns and by many for making payments and transfers.According to a recent report, “In the bitcoin network, for example, the average processing fee for a bitcoin transaction is 0.04 cents, compared to more than 0.35 cents for a typical credit card transaction.” Given its unique features and low correlation with traditional asset classes, bitcoin is rising as a new asset class.Other than an investment alternative, bitcoin is being seen as a viable option to send remittances from abroad, especially in countries such as India, China and Philippines which have the largest diaspora population in the world.Back in September, Coinsecure, one of the Indian exchanges, entered into a partnership with OKCoin to enable remittances into India via bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology.(Related reading, see: How To Add Bitcoins To Your Retirement Account) Increasing knowledge about virtual currencies among people and subsequent adoption as a payment and investment alternative can together push bitcoin towards mainstream.