Bitcoin Legal in India

Bitcoin to Be Officially Legal in India

The debet started few months back , as some of the politicians were with bitcoin and some of were against who have called for a ban of bitcoin, deeming it a “pyramid ponzi scheme” in discussions at the Indian Parliament, a member of parliament of the ruling BJP in India, was harshly criticized for his description of Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme.

As things stand, bitcoin is neither legal nor illegal in India and the young but growing bitcoin industry is unregulated by the government. In February, the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, pointedly issued a public notice stating that investors or adopters of digital currencies would be doing so at their own risk.

On March 30th The India's biggest Bitcoin exchange Zebpay signed a petition to Announce bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as legal

India’s Finance Ministry (FinMin) established an inter-discplinary committee to study and research digital currencies and their regulatory frameworks other countries. The committee is tasked to recommend a course for the regulation and legislation of digital currencies in India. It has since been widely reported that bitcoin is set to gain legality in India. Earlier this month, an Indian publication cited a FinMin source as stating that the government is working on regulations for the bitcoin industry.

Over the past three years, the big three Indian Bitcoin exchanges including Zebpay, Coinsecure and Unocoin operated with self-regulated trading platforms with strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering systems in place, despite the lack of regulations in the digital currency industry and market.

Last week, the Indian government established an inter-disciplinary committee to examine the framework for virtual currencies in the country. The committee was installed by the Ministry of Finance, the country’s financial regulator, citing ‘concern’ with the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in India.

According to today’s CNBC report, that committee has heard discussions about the legality of bitcoin and virtual currencies in India. The report also suggests that the committee is veering toward legislation of the cryptocurrency in India.