India and Bitcoins

[bryant.coleman]

Well, Indians have suffered some bad news recently. The Supreme Court has refused to grant them their plea on the ban of exchange between fiat and crypto. That's very bad to hear in this times but anyways we hope a redemption comes soon.

I have been to India a few times and there are a lot of options for the Indians to exchange between crypto and fiat. But now it is going to be risky, as the government may be screening all the crypto users.

[MoonJeina]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

Things are pretty complicated in India . Its not illegal but all the withdraws by the banks are stopped nby the India's main bank called RBI and all the banks under RBI . This is a major drawback among all the users back in India and there are a lot of them .
The next verdict is on JULY 20TH , but things seems out og hand for now.

[marseille]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

the popularity of bitcoin in India is very rapid from the beginning of the Indian rejection of crypto because they have their own digital assets made by their own country who hope to be able to compete in the world industry which in the end bitcoin development is a bit hampered and it must really have permission to use it

[Preclus]

Crypto currency and India are not on good terms with each other!1 This is what I feel. Whenever there  is a highlight from India regarding bitcoin or the crypto currency market, you'll never be hearing a good to go news. In fact what you get to hear most of the times is that the central bank of the country banned dealings in crypto, or an Indian wallet to stop crypto encashment into fiat,...blah...blah!! What the government of the country is upto is out of my thinking, because it is unable to determine which side to choose. It has chosen the midway corridor and let the situation so much vague for its citizens as well.

[Tigorss]

Every news is negative to bitcoin now days. Even india says it is not legal tender as they have been saying since last year. However now FUD created that is why every news is hitting BTC very badly.

The decline in bitcoin prices follows investor concerns over regulatory upgrading in India and potential price manipulation in some major exchanges.

[HiringYou]

The legal status of Bitcoin in India is still not clear.No doubt that digital exchanges are not allowed to work.A temporary stay has been imposed on them.This is due to the case filed by RBI against these exchanges.The decision will be made on the next hearing that is on 11th of september 2018.Then we will come to know that whether these exchanges will work or not.So we can't say that Bitcoin is illegal in India.It is just a temporary stay on the exchanges imposed by the supreme court.

[DeadCoin]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

There should be a good change in the coming months after the last hearing in supreme court. Bitcoin may be cobsidered as a commodity in future in India. This qould be most welcimed where instead of prohibiting, accepting bitcoin to be an asset. This could develope the nation as well as will not intrupt banking system.

[ahiaba.john@yahoo.com]

I think what it mean is simply there is restriction on the uses of bitcoin but whoever involve in the transaction of bitcoin does that at it own risk if at all. It could be further said that government put no task on bitcoin transaction or trading in India since it is individual choice.

[hacekd]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

It's like with many other countries. Bitcoin is a novelty and there are no laws regarding it. It's not illegal and it's not officially legal because nobody has bothered to make it legal or illegal yet. In some European countries it was made officially legal while some are regarding it as a harmless internet project that is not important enough for them to start the process of legislation, at least for now. It's all fine. If something isn't illegal it's legal. If there's no law saying you can't fly a drone in the city, it means that you can as long as you don't damage property or annoy people. It's the same with crypto.

bitcoin transactions come with a series of risks of their own. However, given this background, one can not conclude that bitcoin is illegal, so far, there has been no ban of bitcoin in India.

[o_freeman]

I think the Indian government is backtracking now. They've realized what an impossible task banning the currency would be, and how it would actually make them look weak in the long run because they wouldn't be able to enforce it, so they're starting to weigh other options.

Think about it. How can a government effectively ban crypto? Even China, with its cyber police and great firewall couldn't stop it completely. There's always a way around it, and if anything, a complete ban will only make the citizens more curious about it. Then they'd start finding easy ways to invest in it, and their children in the west will start sending remittances with it.

[rosymadaan7]

Indian government did not accept bitcoin as legal affair
There are discussion continued that to accept bitcoins or  reject bitcoins
After a strong discussion it will be accepted as legal affair and future is very bright for bitcoin

[ranman09]

Correctly said! It is not a legal tender in India means you can not use bitcoin to pay for services and goods you purchase from an Indian citizen. But they haven't ban it either because they simply don't have the infrastructure to do so. Even if Indian government bans bitcoin, people will still use it but the ultimate looser will be the government because they will loose out on tax part.

On the other hand, if the government legalize it, it will have to be considered as a legal tender which may bring significant outrage from the banks who are supporting the development of India through funding.

So the government has taken a midway. They have kept the window open for the willing taxpayers. This way they will not loose a significant amount on taxes as well as pacify the banks. But that's a temporary arrangement. The government is still waiting for the final report and recommendations from the committee they have formed to decide the impact of Cryptocurrency on India's economy.

So they are allowing the use of bitcoin or cryptocurrency today? So if people in India found out that they can legally, well not legally, able to use bitcoin or cryptocurrencies for payments without tax then they might use it more often.

How then will they not lose a significant amount in taxes?

[hacekd]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

Yeah bitcoin is not a legal tender in India but it is still not officially banned in India either. The reason why it could be at stand by could be that they want to warn people who are trying to do scams or are trying to do money laundering . I think they Would not ban bitcoin but they would imply some restrictions which could eliminate the chances of fraud and money laundering.

The exchange and other business transactions in cryptocurrency will no longer have access to banking services under the ban, which means traders will be banned from attracting rupees through the business. So that the ban on bitcoin is likely to be implemented soon.

[SnowAugustine]

Who cares about India anyway? We survived the exchange ban in China, and IMO any negative government action in India doesn't even come close. I am more concerned about other countries such as Japan, Russia, South Korea, United States and the European Union.

Yeah if we can survive China, I'm sure the fuss over India won't last long. The Chinese government is quite stringent about capital controls and limiting capital flight, even the kinds of websites you can visit. India isn't nearly as well equipped, although I do hear that they're getting better and better at tracking their own citizens (which must be hard in that kind of environment!)

It looks like a false flag to scare their people away from it. Does anyone really think that a government can stop bitcoin on their own? People will still transact in cash and sidestep anyone who tries to stand in their way.

[KorakPawon]

this is almost the same as some countries, the state does not prohibit bitcoin if its status is the same as gold or silver and others, but it cannot be used in the sale and purchase or payment tool, which ultimately the community in this case they only invest their money the same thing they buy gold, but the difference in bitcoin has its own advantages.

[Eleven86]

this is almost the same as some countries, the state does not prohibit bitcoin if its status is the same as gold or silver and others, but it cannot be used in the sale and purchase or payment tool, which ultimately the community in this case they only invest their money the same thing they buy gold, but the difference in bitcoin has its own advantages.

Supreme court is yet to hear the last hearing from exchanges. Hope to get a positive news after the hearing. There is an expectation that India will consider bitcoin as one of the commodities. If this happens then well and good.

[Spaffin]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

I think that in India in the near future things will change for the better. Recently, a special commission set up by the Government of India concluded that bitcoin could be considered a means of payment, that is, act as money. This dramatically changes the situation in favor of the crypto currency. It remains to wait until the government draws up such a decision with its normative act.

[Aleh777]

Current situation of bitcoin is not yet confirmed as legal or illegal. But RBI earlier announced that crypto transactions should not go through the banks tied up with RBI. Indian government will have an idea to create its own crypto currency. Hope RBI comes with good decision.

[o_freeman]

In India, Bitcoin is not a legal tender. But it is not explicitly termed as illegal. What is the reason for such a stand by Government? what are its implications?

I think that in India in the near future things will change for the better. Recently, a special commission set up by the Government of India concluded that bitcoin could be considered a means of payment, that is, act as money. This dramatically changes the situation in favor of the crypto currency. It remains to wait until the government draws up such a decision with its normative act.

Is this for real? When I look on localbitcoins.com it looks like a graveyard in India. No one is trading anymore. A friend of mine said he got in touch with a local agency buying and selling for 12.5% commission. That's absurd! Probably because the banks are afraid to touch it.

Does anyone know if people are still exchanging crypto inside of the country? Or have they all fled to Bangladesh and Nepal?

[Flor1982]

Current situation of bitcoin is not yet confirmed as legal or illegal. But RBI earlier announced that crypto transactions should not go through the banks tied up with RBI. Indian government will have an idea to create its own crypto currency. Hope RBI comes with good decision.

Everything is in the hands of India's Supreme Court now in which they will finally will decide the future of Bitcoin legitimacy on the month of September of this year. We will hope that their decision will favor the acceptance of Bitcoin as this will help the market to rise specially now that the price is currently dropping. Here is the link for our reference https://www.ccn.com/breaking-indias-supreme-court-sets-september-date-for-final-cryptocurrency-petition-hearing/.