While RBI is yet to come out with a clear regulatory framework for bitcoins, which have been gaining currency across the world over the past few months, it has issued an advisory cautioning general public against use of bitcoins and other virtual currencies.
Inspiring story of India's 'Helmet Man' goes viral.
Charges were filed against against underground bitcoin exchanger Robert Faiella, 52, and chief executive officer and compliance officer of a bitcoin exchange company Charlie Shrem, 24.
The trigger for the action is understood to be the huge spike being registered in the value of bitcoins and other virtual currencies in the recent past.
In a recent townhall meeting, creditors of WazirX pressed founder Nischal Shetty and the restructuring legal team for solutions, seeking representation on the committee of creditors (CoC) and expeditious restructuring within four months, and asked for clarity on redistribution of potential gains from future crypto market upswings.
India's stock markets corrected recently but foreign money is likely to chase China rather than India in the short-to-medium term, said Chris Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, on Thursday. Wood told the Business Standard Manthan Summit in New Delhi he is bullish about Indian equities from a long-term perspective, but for the short term he is cautious given the quantum of foreign investor (FII) outflows and valuation woes.
Since the last nine years, gold investors have made money each year, while gains in silver have been consistent only in the last five years.
President-elect Donald Trump promised his supporters and countrymen that he will act at historic speed to fix every single crisis facing the United States, on the eve of his inauguration. Trump told his supporters at the Capitol One Arena, which was full to its capacity of 20,000 for a 'Make America Great' victory celebration, that he will act with "historic speed and strength" and fix "every single crisis facing our country." He also outlined some of his plans for his first day in office, including halting the "invasion" of the US border and restoring border security measures, which he said will be the most "aggressive, sweeping efforts to restore our borders the world has ever seen."
Limit your investment in cryptocurrencies and make sure you have current holdings in your own custody until regulatory cloud blows over, experts tell Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Those who want to invest should consider their risk appetite. Youngsters may go for it as they have a longer horizon to recover from a setback.
India has over 19 million cryptocurrency investors out of which nearly nine per cent are women, data from a report by cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinSwitch showed. Nearly 75 per cent of cryptocurrency investors belong to a young demographic, with ages spanning from 18 to 35 years, the report noted. This represents a significant interest in crypto among young users.
A single security lapse could lead to complete wipe out of your crypto assets in seconds, with no recovery in sight, warns Nikhil Sethi.
Crypto currency platform WazirX, a cyber-attack on July 19 this year in which nearly 40 lakh Indians have suffered a loss of to a tune of $230 million or Rs 19.12 billion, has moved the Singapore high court seeking a moratorium in any legal action against it and for legal protection.
A sharp fall in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is another hard blow to the already sinking cryptocurrency market in India. Global and domestic prices have been on a downward trail since November last year when Bitcoin prices hit a peak of close to $68,000 in international markets. The recent past has seen a much sharper fall in the price of the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
The tiny Central American nation of El Salvador has embarked on an interesting experiment by recognising bitcoin as legal tender. This is proving painful for many of its citizens but it's a useful "pilot" project for larger economies that are contemplating the peculiarities of this new asset class. El Salvador has a population of 6.5 million and GDP of about $27 billion.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has asserted there were no lapses on the part of the government in handling cases relating to the alleged sexual abuse of women by Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and that the Special Investigation Team was probing them from all angles.
The price of bitcoin, the bestselling cryptocurrency, has shrunk nearly three times this year to mark the fate of such digital assets. Crashing prices, regulatory uncertainty and taxes have put Indian crypto exchanges in troubled waters. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget for FY23 announced a 30 per cent tax on any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets.
After the massive tax evasion of GST by cryptocurrency service provider WazirX, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence has come down heavily on cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country, said sources. "Around half a dozen offices of cryptocurrency service providers have been searched and massive Goods and Service Tax (GST) evasion has been detected by DGGI," sources told ANI. Crypto wallet and exchange are platforms where merchants and consumers can transact with digital assets like bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, etc.
Blockchain's promise: Dramatically speeding up transactions, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
The Indian cyber security agency has issued a warning against 'Royal ransomware' virus that attacks critical sectors like communications, healthcare, education and even individuals and seeks pay-off in Bitcoins for not leaking personal data in the public domain.
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies reiterate his bullish view on Indian equities on the back of a steady fall in Covid cases coupled with a sharp economic recovery in India, reports Puneet Wadhwa.
The hack may have been done by a rogue Twitter employee, or it may have been a smart hack into the Twitter system, or a social hack where someone conned Twitter's employees into giving them access,' suspects Devangshu Datta.
Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak died on Sunday at the age of 49.
Is it a good idea to give Rs 1 crore to someone who promises you a return of 24% per annum, wonders financial advisor P V Subramanyam.
Mathematical problems can sometimes turn out to have real-world applications. This is true for the Riemann Hypothesis. Crypto-currency investors will heave a sigh of relief if the problem is unsolved since a proof could render their expertise obsolete, explains Devangshu Datta.
"It is now under control. We are speaking with Twitter to ascertain the exact reason," a party leader said.
Investors, including large corporations, view them as a potential hedge against uncertainty, and mainstream investment banks too are jumping into the game.
The top hashtag in India was #COVID19, as the country grappled with the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
Last week, the country's leading exchange, Zebpay, launched trading in Litecoin, which is the eighth-largest cryptocurrency, following rising demand from Indian investors.
Avoid thinking of investment as some 'become millionaire in a week' scheme, says Nikhil Sethi, founder and MD, Zuvomo, a crowdfunding firm. Always think of long term gains and plan your trades accordingly.
The government is considering a provision to provide an exit window to holders of cryptocurrencies (cryptos), keeping in mind that banning them outright could deal a blow to investors sitting on them for years. According to sources in the government, the framework in the making may propose a grace period of three to six months for investors before prohibiting the possession, trading, mining, and issuing of cryptos. A group of secretaries chaired by the Cabinet secretary is learnt to have met in mid-March and discussed issues associated with cryptos, including the consequences of banning them and also on possible substitutes of blockchain technology - an advanced technology Bitcoin uses.
With days to go before the new tax regime around crypto assets kicks in, several investors are reportedly either booking profits, rejigging their portfolios or moving their crypto assets to their private wallets outside of India. Starting April, gains from trading in crypto and other virtual assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be taxed at a flat 30 per cent, as announced in the Union Budget. And, 1 per cent of tax will be deducted at source (TDS) on every transaction involving crypto and other virtual assets. The new tax regime also bars investors from offsetting losses from one crypto asset (such as Bitcoin) against gains from another (say, Ethereum).
'Rather than experimenting with CBDCs, we must come up with a very simple and straight design.' 'Dematerialise your currency/cash and with that dematerialised rupee allow all the transactions digitally.'
The pharmacy, identified by the federal anti-narcotics agency as JR Infinity Pvt Ltd, was located at Domalguda in Telangana's capital city.
Traders who pay in rupees generate over Rs 50 crore in daily cryptocurrency volumes. Indians actually invest a great deal more in forex-denominated trades, observes Devangshu Dutta, explaining why it is impossible to ban cryptocurrency.
'As an investor, I either have to exit my investments in the next three months or use dark pools or cash to transact. For a normal investor, it will be almost impossible to transact in bitcoin and other digital currencies.'
'Allocate some parts of one's surplus income towards cryptocurrencies, considering the immense growth potential of this emerging asset class.'
'Young working adults between 25 and 34, who are in Indian Tier II and III cities, are leading the charge in terms of crypto adoption.'
As lobbying and counter-lobbying intensify, right now, it looks like a T20 match, discovers Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Centre has recovered around Rs 95.86 crore from at least 11 crypto exchanges for evading goods and services tax (GST), according to data released by Parliament on Monday. The amount includes interest and penalty. The GST investigation department has detected a total tax evasion of Rs 81.54 crore by crypto exchanges that include WazirX, Coin DCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, Buy Ucoin, UnoCoin and Flitpay, among other exchanges. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, minister of state (MoS) for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said 11 cases of GST evasion by cryptocurrency exchanges have been detected by central GST formations.
