When El Salvador legalized cryptocurrency use in its country, the world took great notice of it. This was quite expected and unexpected at the same time. Currently, there is no country other than El Salvador that has legalized cryptocurrency fully. Although in many countries, there are certain propositions for cryptocurrency, they are limited. According to many tech giants, these cryptocurrencies are supposedly the future of currency. At the same time, there trepidatious about their widespread use. Consequently, in many countries, the use of cryptocurrencies is illegal or unregulated.
Virtual currencies are becoming popular among the masses. But these are yet to be legally recognized by countries. The lack of regulations makes the use and dealings in virtual currencies like bitcoin unsafe and illegal. However, due to increasing popularity, some countries have made their use legal and henceforth made some rules for the regulations of these cryptocurrencies. This is quite popular in the US.
What is a Cryptocurrency?
A Cryptocurrency is a virtual currency, It does not exist in any physical form but in a computerized code or program. They carry value by virtue of their existence that is believed to be extremely safe and useful. The cryptocurrency works on a decentralized system where all the stakeholders are equally important and monitors the flow of currency. Hence, the safety. This is actually distributed ledger technology.
Legal Status of Cryptocurrency Transactions in India
To begin with, India does not have any laws and regulations to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies. But nor are there no rules which ban the use of cryptocurrencies in India. So, this is a confusing situation and because of this investors are quite confused.
Earlier the current year, the government proposed to put a ban on the use of all cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin and Bitcoin. However, till now there are no developments in this respect. Rather it is believed that the government has taken a new u-turn.
According to a report, the government has decided to drop the idea of banning all cryptocurrencies. The government is considering putting cryptocurrencies under the Assent Class in order to regulate them.
This clearly indicates that currently in India, cryptocurrency transactions are not illegal but rather unregulated. This means that you can do transactions in crypto but you will have no aid from the government of India in case of any fraudulent loss. Hence, there are no regulatory bodies like the RBI or other financial institutions to protect people from such frauds. But surely you can buy or invest in crypto without bothering for the law of the land.
This is an important noteworthy detail for investors thinking to invest in cryptocurrency. This is because, in the absence of a regulatory body, there is a wide scope for scams and frauds. Right now anyone can create an exchange platform or make an all-new cryptocurrency.
Use of Cryptocurrency in India | Cryptocurrency Transactions
Despite the widespread popularity of cryptocurrency around the world, there is still a basic question that leaves us scratching heads. What can we do with a cryptocurrency even if we buy one? Is it possible to buy a sandwich with crypto? Well, the straightforward answer is NO. one can not buy a sandwich with cryptocurrency. In the real world, cryptocurrency has no physical significance like many other things that include stocks, bonds, etc. But it is believed that over time crypto will gain the kind of financial value that it stands for just as gold and silver did.
Gold and silver are simple metals like copper and iron but they hold greater value and are used as a form of exchange for money. This is because over time they accumulated that value which has made them valuable in current times.
The concept of cryptocurrency can be understood on the same line. These will become valuable over time. The objective of bitcoin is just like gold that is to accumulate value over time. Different cryptocurrencies have different purposes. Ethereum resembles a global supercomputer that can be run by any program after purchasing cryptocurrency Ether.
Cryptocurrency Transactions
Now that we have understood few things about cryptocurrency transactions. Let us understand what they comprise? They comprise of selling and buying cryptocurrency or digital coins like bitcoin, dogecoin, etc. A lot of platforms exist where people can buy or sell these coins. The popular Indian platforms comprise Zebpay, Coinswitch Kuber, WazirX, and CoinDCX GO. To buy international currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc. one will have to contact international trading platforms.
These platforms work 24*7 and people will just have to log in to their account via the platform, complete the Know Your Customer process and transfer the money and make a purchase. You can deposit or withdraw money at any time from your account.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency transactions are not illegal in India according to RBI however they are unregulated which makes them vulnerable. So one should have complete knowledge of digital currency, its working, risks involved, etc. before going for any transactions.