Cryptocurrency

Speaking at the InFinity Forum organised by Bloomberg and IFSCA, Sitharaman noted that no country has found a one-point formula to regulate technology such as cryptocurrency. "Even as we are thinking about at a national level, there should simultaneously be a global mechanism through which we are constantly monitoring the movement of technology, so that whether it is your cryptocurrency, whether it is tech-driven payment system, data privacy..." she said.

During the winter session of Parliament starting Monday, the Centre aims to table the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which reportedly seeks a ban on all private cryptocurrencies. The Centre's objective is "to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India".

With an estimated 15 to 20 million crypto investors, and no clarity on the size of the Indian crypto market, a blanket ban is set to shake up the entire crypto ecosystem. A recent advertisement by the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), a part of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) with industry players like CoinSwitch Kuber, CoinDCX, WazirX and Zebpay on board, claimed that crores of Indians have invested over Rs 6 lakh crore in crypto assets to date -- a figure which is highly questionable, as no one has any actual idea about the kind of money being routed via crypto exchanges.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in a statement that they recognise that the emerging crypto-asset sector presents potential opportunities and risks for banking organisations, their customers and the overall financial system.

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India in the Winter Session of Parliament starting November 29. It, however, allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its usage. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told IANS that cryptocurrencies don't function and provide services as currencies only.

The billionaire shared some screen grabs which claimed that he has made tons of money using a cryptocurrency investment platform. Sharing some screen-shots which claimed that Mahindra has made a lot of money using a crypto currency platform, the billionaire said that such news takes “fake news” to another level. He also asserted that he somehow has seen this news online which made him alert.

The US Department of Justice intends to sell the coins and use the proceeds to reimburse victims. According to court documents, Glenn Arcaro, 44, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to participating in a massive conspiracy to defraud BitConnect investors in the US and abroad, in which investors were fraudulently induced to invest over $2 billion.

While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had emphasised that not all windows on cryptocurrencies will be shut down, Garg, a pioneer in formulating policies around crypto, sees a lot of new and serious concerns coming through those windows, as the policymakers struggle to find answers as to how to deal with the highly-volatile crypto situation.

Iloilo, located in the Panay region of the Philippines, has a population of just over 2 million. World renowned for its Spanish colonial churches and old houses, it is the premier city in the Asia Pacific where three properties have been sold in exchange for Bitcoin and Litecoin according to several reports from LeapRate, Asia Property Awards, and Asia's largest online property portal group, Property Guru's Property Report.

Bitcoin and Ether created a new all-time high of $68,641.57 and $4,857.25 on Tuesday. Despite uncertainties and high volatility surrounding it, Bitcoin may touch the $100,000 mark by the end of this year. The Bitcoin market cap alone has crossed $2.5 trillion amid its rising adoption globally, particularly in India.