Crypto-currencies not a legal tender or coin, says Jaitley

Trading in cryptocurrency also got Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s attention in his budget speech for financial year 2018-19.
 
The Finance Minister said, “The government does not consider crypto-currencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system.”
 
He said the government will explore use of block chain technology proactively for ushering in digital economy.
 
Trading in cryptocurrency especially in Bitcoin, has stolen limelight since last year.
 
Bitcoin which was trading at $14 on January 2013, grew 141,825.71% or 1419.26 times by December 17, 2017 - where it clocked $19,869.60-mark.
 
Investors were so optimistic about Bitcoin’s performance that they even boosted other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, TRON and Monero.
 
Cryptocurrencies enthusiasts were eagerly waiting for a clarification from the Finance Minister on ambiguity around the legality and taxability of digital currencies.
 
Looking at the volume of trade  Bitcoin is generating, the Income Tax Department, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the FinMin expressed concern over it in November 2017.
 
On December 15, 2017, the Finance Ministry had set up a panel for scanning details of the digital currencies.
 
A Pundi X study revealed that about 1 in every 10 Bitcoin transactions worldwide takes place on the Indian subcontinent.
 
Constantin Papadimitriou, Pundi X’s president, surveyed 3,000 respondents across India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US.
 
He revealed to Quartz that not only Bitcoin, but also other cryptocurrencies like Ripple, Litecoin and Ethereum are gaining momentum among Indians.