[2017-07-12] Hindu: Bitcoin affords anonymity, in grey area

Bitcoin affords anonymity, in grey area

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/bitcoin-affords-anonymity-in-grey-area/article19265595.ece

Crypto-currency that is planned to be brought under the regulatory regime is a digital currency which allows transacting parties to remain anonymous while confirming that the transaction is a valid one. It is not owned or controlled by any institution – governments or private.

There are multiple such currencies — bitcoin, ethereum, ripple are some of the popular ones. Currently, they are neither illegal nor legal in India. “One bitcoin today is worth as much as 60 grams of gold. The market cap for all crypto-currencies has just crossed $100 billion, with most of the increase coming in the past few months. On April 1, 2017, the total market cap was just over $25 billion, representing a 300% rise in just over 60 days,” said a senior government official.

“The discussion on whether crypto-currencies should be banned or regulated has been on for some time. The pros and cons for both aspects were put forth in the meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last month,” the official told The Hindu.

A proposal to ban such currency altogether was also considered at the meeting, but found few takers among top officials from the Ministries of Finance, Home Affairs and IT as well as SEBI, the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India and NITI Aayog.