Cryptocurrencies will boost illegal transactions: RBI to SC - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Cryptocurrencies will boost illegal transactions: RBI to SC.

‘They are immune from government interference’

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said dealing in cryptocurrency will encourage illegal transactions. The RBI has already issued a circular prohibiting use of these virtual currencies.

Cryptocurrencies are “a stateless digital currency” in which encryption techniques are used for trading and these ‘currencies’ operate independently of a Central bank like the RBI, “rendering it immune from government interference”.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, was informed by senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the RBI, that a committee has been set up by the Centre to deal with issues relating to cryptocurrencies.
The federal bank and the Central government sought three weeks time from the Bench, which also comprised justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, for filing their responses to a clutch of petitions on the issue. The Bench granted till September 11. The apex court had also sought the assistance of Attorney General K.K. Venugopal in the matter.
One of the petitions was filed by Siddharth Dalmia and Vijay Pal Dalmia and they had said that the RBI, through its circular, had directed banks and financial institutions to freeze the bank accounts of those individuals and companies dealing in the illegal trade of virtual currencies.
Mr. Dalmia, in his plea, has sought a direction to the Centre to take steps to restrain sale and purchase of illegal cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins, which were being traded openly for “illegal activities” like funding terrorism and insurgency. (Source: The Hindu)


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Cryptocurrencies will boost illegal transactions: RBI to SC.

Rules on cryptocurrencies should be out soon: Sebi chief -Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Rules on cryptocurrencies should be out soon: Sebi chief

Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi says a policy on cryptocurrency should come out first and then only the role of Sebi can be outlined.

Amid continuing volatility in bitcoin prices and growing concerns about investors’ safety, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Ajay Tyagi on Saturday said the regulations on cryptocurrencies should be out soon and the role various regulators will play is being finalised.
“The day Budget was presented, on the next day itself we have requested DEA (Department of Economic Affairs) to call a meeting of that very quickly...We want first a policy to be framed...We have actually decided that which regulator will do what and we want that the committee should come out with the regulations very quickly and we will fully contribute to this,” Tyagi told reporters.
Tyagi, who is part of the committee formed by the government to examine the pros and cons of virtual currencies (VCs), including launching an own cryptocurrency, said that a policy in this regard should come out first and then only the role of Sebi can be outlined.
The VCs are stored in digital or electronic format, making them vulnerable to hacking, loss of password and malware attack, which may also result in permanent loss of money. “As of now, finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that cryptocurrencies are not a legal tender,” Tyagi said. (Source: Livemint)


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Rules on cryptocurrencies should be out soon: Sebi chief