Bitcoins not a lawful tender in India: Arun Jaitley
Bitcoins not a lawful tender in India: Arun Jaitley
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Rising in the presence of bitcoins and other forms of virtual currencies (VCs) in India, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday repeated that the former are not accepted as a lawful and legal tender in India.

"Since December 24, 2013, the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have maintained the same stand on bitcoins and other forms of virtual currencies.Through multiple notifications, the two parties have informed the public time and again that bitcoins will not be considered lawful or legal tender in India," Jaitley said while responding to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha earlier today.

Further, Arun Jaitley stated that an expert group was commissioned to look into the matter, adding that a report will be filed by them on the matter.

"The government does not want to take any significant steps before the report is filed.We will look into the report and then issue corrective measures after a thorough understanding of the situation. We will also take the global scenario into consideration. However, we have clearly stated that dealing with VCs is at one's own risk," he said.

When asked on measures taken to protect citizens from the dangers involved in cryptocurrencies and availability of data on the same, Jaitley noted that 11 exchanges have been identified in India, and reiterated that experts groups are looking into the same.

"Bitcoins are not restricted to India; it is a problem world over. There are 785 VCs in operation worldwide presently. Cryptocurrency lacks dependence and function with anonymity within a virtual community. All operations are online. We have identified 11 exchanges dealing with VCs in India. We are awaiting the official report from experts," said Jaitley

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