What is “crypto” Cryptocurrency:

A cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions. Much of the interest in these unregulated currencies is to trade for profit, with speculators at times driving prices skyward. In another way Cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens, and these can be traded specifically for the good or service that the company provides. Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need to exchange real currency for the cryptocurrency to access the good or service. Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called “Blockchain”.

What is Blockchain: Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security. Best cryptocurrencies by market capitalization: These are the 10 largest trading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization as tracked by Coin-Market-Cap, a cryptocurrency data and analytics provider.

Why are cryptocurrencies so popular ?

Cryptocurrencies appeal to their supporters for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the most popular:

1. Supporters see cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as the currency of the future and are racing to buy them now, presumably before they become more valuable.

2. Some supporters like the fact that cryptocurrency removes central banks from managing the money supply, since over time these banks tend to reduce the value of money via inflation

3. Other supporters like the technology behind cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, because it’s a decentralized processing and recording system and can be more secure than traditional payment systems

4. Some speculators like cryptocurrencies because they’re going up in value and have no interest in the currencies’ long-term acceptance as a way to move money

Is Cryptocurrency Legal in India?

Currently, it’s most accurate to say cryptocurrency isn’t illegal. While the government gave notice that it was looking at banning cryptocurrencies in January, the issue came to a head — publicly, at any rate — on Mar. 14. That day, an unnamed “senior official” told Reuters that the complete ban would be included in The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021. It will reportedly include a three to six-month grace period to sell off holdings and wind down mining and other related businesses. After that fines would be levied. However, that very day, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the India Today Conclave that — while regulations were coming — the government would not “shut off all cryptocurrency” as it recognized that many financial technology (fintech) companies need to experiment with blockchain technology. The finance ministry “will allow certain windows for people to do experiments on blockchain, bitcoins, or cryptocurrency,” she said, according to Business Standard.

In mid-April, Decrypt noted that a junior minister, Anurag Thakur, the Indian Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, said that the pending legislation would protect investors against price volatility in the cryptocurrency market — something some industry insiders took as a sign that a regulatory framework is coming, rather than a full ban.

Keep Bitcoin Legal:

India’s crypto industry has been pushing hard for such a regulatory framework, with the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) welcoming the government’s decision to make it mandatory for Indian companies to disclose past and future investments in cryptocurrencies. The council — whose members include Bitex, CoinDCX, Paxful, Unocoin and WazirX — saw the decision as a sign that the government is moving towards an acceptance of cryptocurrencies that will help the industry to grow. “It is in a positive direction and would bring transparency, legitimacy, and structure to the industry,” said Sohail Merchan, CEO of BACC member Pocketbits. Srinivasan suggested crypto should be regulated under the existing Foreign Exchange Management Act. In late December, the Ministry’s Central Economic Intelligence Bureau recommended an 18% tax on Bitcoin transactions that would raise almost $1 billion.

RBI Pushes Crypto Ban in India

If the finance ministry is backtracking from a full ban, the independent central bank has doubled down on its hostility to crypto. The RBI tends to see crypto as a threat to its capital controls — something the Indian government has a decades-long history of enforcing, often to its detriment. In February, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the bank has “major concerns from the financial stability angle.” That led WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty to argue that regulation would be more effective than a ban in ensuring financial stability. The RBI has a different opinion of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which would gain a legal framework in the proposed bill. That digital rupee is currently a “work in progress,” according to its governor.