AMN / NEW DELHI
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha that cryptocurrencies like bitcoins among others, are not legel tender, and have not been approved by either the government or the Reserve Bank of India.
Speaking on the issue of Non-performing Assets, the Finance Minister clearly said that bulk of the NPAs today have arisen out of loans, that were disbursed prior to 1st April 2014.
The government panel is also awaiting a report on tackling cryptocurrencies in India, Jaitley said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also cautioned from time to time about the risks of dealing with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin are a cryptocurrency with a worldwide payment system which is decentralised. This implies that the currency operates separate from the currency of the central bank of any country or a single administrator.
Through its press release dated December 24, 2013 and February 1, 2017 and once again on December 5, 2017, the RBI reiterated caution of dealing with Bitcoin. “Attention of members of public is drawn to the Press Release issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 24, 2013, cautioning users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs) including Bitcoins regarding the potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks associated in dealing with such VCs,” RBI said.
Value of the Bitcoin crossed $19,000 in December last year. As of today, January 2, 2018, the value of the Bitcoin converted to Indian National Rupees by Google is stated as Rs 8,51,073.40.
