For a long time now, the legality of cryptocurrency in India has been in the grey zone. People often wondered if Bitcoin is legal in India.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made it clear once and for all in his budget 2018 speech, that any cryptocurrency is not a legal tender in India. With this statement, he has put an end to all speculations on the fate of cryptocurrencies in India.
However, you must note, the FM means to say cryptocurrencies cannot be used a legal tender – to buy commodities or services. However, it can still be purchased as an asset – similar to how gold is.
Finance Minister, however, acknowledged the power of blockchain and distributed ledger technology. He also said that government will make focused efforts in exploring the prospects of this technology.
Blockchain technology has the capability of keeping a track of all the transactions without needing a central authority to manage it. This feature endows it with transparency and hence makes it suitable for a plethora of applications in future.
The Finance Minister appears in no mood to jump in this territory without clearing out the uncertainties that loom over it.
As far as Government’s commitment towards building a digital India is concerned there are no doubts about it. Yet as of now, State has cleared all the doubts about legal status of cryptocurrencies by reiterating that there are no legal safeguards for people trading in cryptocurrencies.
Happy investing!
Disclaimer: the views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Groww.