ZebPay Launches SIPs to Champion Disciplined Bitcoin Investing in India

ZebPay, one of India’s pioneering Bitcoin exchanges, has announced the launch of its Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) feature, allowing users to avail the benefit of automated, recurring crypto investments. The new feature is designed to promote a disciplined, long-term approach to crypto investing, especially Bitcoin, helping Indian investors manage market volatility with consistency and confidence.

Reinforcing its long-standing Bitcoin-first philosophy, ZebPay has designed its SIP offering with a clear emphasis on systematic Bitcoin investing, while also extending access to a curated set of 15 crypto investing pairs. Anchored in the brand’s “Bitcoin Mein Pro” ethos, the initiative underscores ZebPay’s belief that long-term value in crypto is built through discipline, consistency, and informed participation rather than short-term speculation.

Sharing his views on the launch, Rahul Pagidipati, CEO of ZebPay, said, “Bitcoin investing, like any long-term financial journey, rewards discipline and consistency. While market volatility is inevitable, systematic investing can help users navigate these cycles with greater confidence. Through the launch of SIPs, we aim to make it easier for Indian investors to adopt a long-term mindset, leverage rupee-cost averaging, and participate in the crypto ecosystem in a more structured and responsible manner.”

By enabling regular investments at fixed intervals, ZebPay SIPs help users reduce reactionary decision-making and build disciplined investing habits focused on long-term participation in the crypto ecosystem. The feature is suited for both first-time investors beginning their crypto journey and experienced users seeking a more structured investment approach. Furthermore, ZebPay SIPs enable users to automate their crypto investments on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis through the platform’s Quick Trade feature. Investments are executed automatically at prevailing market prices, allowing for hands-free investing while helping users average their purchase costs over time. Users also retain full flexibility, with the option to pause, resume, or cancel their SIPs at any time, without lock-ins or penalties.

Raj Karkara, COO of ZebPay, mentioned, “Over the years, we’ve seen growing interest from users seeking simpler, more automated ways to invest in crypto without the need to constantly track the markets. ZebPay SIPs are designed to offer users control and transparency while reducing the friction associated with manual investing. This launch marks another step in our ongoing efforts to build intuitive, compliant, and investor-first solutions for India’s evolving crypto community.”

Setting up a SIP on ZebPay is designed to be simple and transparent. Users can select a crypto asset of their choice, set a fixed investment amount in INR, and choose an investment frequency aligned with their financial goals. Each SIP execution is carried out through Quick Trade market orders, with the purchased crypto credited directly to the user’s account. Investors also have clear visibility into their investment amounts, applicable fees, and execution history at all times.

In line with ZebPay’s commitment to accessible and responsible investing, SIPs follow the same fee structure as Quick Trade. As a special benefit, users making their first-ever Bitcoin transaction, even if via SIP, will enjoy a zero-fee experience, making it easier for new investors to take their first step toward systematic Bitcoin investing. On that note, ZebPay SIPs are available to KYC-compliant users, with investments executed only when sufficient wallet balance is present. The feature has been live on Android and web platforms from January 8, 2026, and has also become available on iOS since January 12, 2026.

With this launch, ZebPay reinforces its position as a platform focused on long-term value creation. The SIP offering embodies the company’s broader philosophy of promoting disciplined investing, setting ZebPay apart from platforms primarily focused on active or high-frequency trading.

About ZebPay

ZebPay is one of India’s oldest Bitcoin exchanges, with over 6 million registered users. Founded in 2014, it strives to be the leading blockchain asset solution provider and the #1 financial advisor for Indians in the crypto space. The company’s mission is to help its members achieve financial freedom in the Web3 economy. ZebPay is an FIU-registered digital asset exchange, accessible via zebpay.com/in/ as well as the Android Play Store and Apple App Store. Customers can invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, BAT, and 400+ other crypto pairs, trading both crypto-fiat and crypto-crypto. ZebPay OTC, a bespoke trading desk for high-volume clients, serves both individual and institutional investors.

For more details, please visit: https://zebpay.com.

For details related to ZebPay’s security measures, please visit the security page.

RTI Response on Indian Crypto Ban Cabinet Note Reveals Ground Reality

Amid all chaos that surrounded crypto regulations in India, the country’s trusted crypto regulatory media platform, Crypto Kanoon filed the RTI, seeking the bottom reality of the Cabinet Note.

Coinpedia Interviewed Mr.Danish to understand what does the mean for crypto regulations in India.

Coinpedia – What’s your recent RTI means for crypto regulations in India?

Mr.Danish – On 12th June, news published in the Economictimes claimed that Govt. is intending to pass a law on the infamous Banning of Cryptocurrency……… Bill 2019 (Crypto Bill) and that Ministry of Finance has already moved a cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultation in this regard.

This news caused enormous confusion as the same was merely based on surmises. Therefore this RTI was primarily filed to check the veracity of this news and also to know the proposal contained in this cabinet note.

The response to this RTI revealed very crucial information about how the Govt. is looking at this entire issue. In this response, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) discloses the fact that the Banning of Cryptocurrency …….Bill, 2019 has not been approved by the Government yet.

It further says that now this Bill is to be examined by the Government through Inter-ministerial consultation. It is pertinent to explain here that the word “Government”, used by DEA in this response, refers to “Ministry of Finance” and not “Parliament” or “Cabinet Secretariat” which means that this Crypto bill does not conform to the satisfaction of the Finance Ministry.

It is however unclear and quite pre-mature to say that the Ministry of Finance will make substantial changes in this bill to reject the idea of a complete ban on Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin etc.

However, it seems that the Ministry of Finance does not want to proceed with this Crypto bill for parliamentary clearance in the present form.

Considering the aforesaid, it can be inferred that the Indian Government has not yet finalized upon its policy around Crypto regulation and is still open to suggestions which are in fact a very good sign as this reconsideration may also pave the way for Crypto friendly regulation in India.

Coinpedia – Since global regulators showing a positive stance on cryptocurrency, do you think that the Indian Govt will also follow the suit?

Mr.Danish – It is true that India has always been very calculated in regulating new technologies. Internet was made available for public use in India in 1995 but the law relating to Computers and the Internet came into force as late as in the year 2000 i.e., Information Technology Act, 2000.

The regulatory developments happening in other parts of the world are crucial in many aspects and when it comes to Crypto, this technology gives very little discretion or the option to the lawmakers.

As Andreas Says, “You Cannot Ban Bitcoin In Your Country, You Can Only Ban Your Country Out Of Bitcoin.” 

Therefore I believe that in this age of globalization, it is hard to believe that any country can afford to isolate itself from the entire world.

Coinpedia – If there’s a crypto ban in India (as recently suggested in a cabinet note), which sector of the crypto industry will be majorly affected in India?

Mr.Danish – The present bill contemplates a blanket ban on everything related to Cryptocurrencies. If this bill is converted into law in the present form, then no sector can survive.

It prescribes punishments for every activity from mining, holding, advertising, promoting, buying, selling to providing exchange services.

Coinpedia: What’s your advice for the ‘Indian crypto industry’ if Govt bans crypto in India?

Mr.Danish – If the Govt. decides to pass a law banning Crypto, this law can be challenged by Crypto business, traders, or enthusiasts based on various rights available to them under the Constitution. 

They can challenge this law before the Supreme Court under Article 32 and before High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution. 

Original Source to the Interview - https://coinpedia.org/news/interview-on-rti-response-on-indian-crypto-ban-cabinet-note/ 

Ministry Conducts Inspection on A Bitcoin Co.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has conducted an inspection on a bitcoin company through Registrar of Companies and prosecutions have been filed for violations under various provisions of the Companies Act, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Responding to a query in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said the ministry has conducted an inspection through Registrar of Companies (RoC), Ahmedabad in the matter of ZEB IT Services Pvt Ltd to examine the aspects with regard to dealing in bitcoins.

"... based on the findings, prosecutions have been filed for violations under various provisions of the Companies Act and the same also have been concluded on payment of penalty on the compounding application(s) filed by the company," he said in a written reply.

The minister further said ZEB IT Services has filed its balance sheet as on March 31, 2019.

Thakur further noted that one more company - Unocoin Technologies Pvt Ltd - registered with RoC, Karnataka is up to date in filing statutory returns and no complaints have been received.

To a question on whether several major companies operating in various sectors are on the verge of insolvency, the minister said, as per the records of MCA, Jet Airways is “under corporate insolvency resolution process” while Airtel Broadband Services is amalgamated.

Besides, Air India, MTNL, Vodafone Idea are active companies and have filed Statutory Returns including financial statements up to the financial years 2019. BSNL has filed the documents till 2018, the minister noted. PTI DRR

Cryptocurrency Players Welcome SC Lifting Trading Ban

Cryptocurrency players on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's order lifting two-year old ban on trading in virtual currencies by the Reserve Bank of India, saying the move will encourage them to expand their offerings in the country.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed banks and financial institutions to provide services related to cryptocurrencies.

Concerned over the risk associated in dealing with virtual currencies, such as Bitcoins, RBI in its April 2018 circular, prohibited trading in such digital currencies.

Pundi X chief executive officer Zac Cheah said the lifting of the ban on crypto only reinforces the fact that crypto and blockchain are the technologies of the future.

"It brings in cheer for crypto / blockchain companies such as Pundi X who have done some remarkable work in this space and encourages us to expand our expert offerings to potential geographies such as India," Cheah said in a statement.

Bitbns CEO Gaurav Dahake said the verdict would give rise to a greater ecosystem in a country where innovation has always had a place, and rope in new investors, better support for blockchain-based projects, and will create more jobs.

"It's such a morale boost and will definitely help us bring back the high-volume traders who were concerned about the tips involved in our P2P transaction system, and have been unable to transact small amounts. We are happy that they finally have a resolution," Dahake said.

Raghu Mohan, CEO and Co-Founder, IBC Media, a marketing solutions company that works with blockchain companies, said it is a step forward to empower entrepreneurs who build innovative business models to solve multiple grassroots problems in the country using crypto.

"Crypto needs to be regulated in India, and we are all for it. Tax it and bring in KYC and anti money laundering (AML) measures to avoid any misuse if need be. In fact, regulating crypto is far easier than regulating physical cash," IBC Media's CEO and co-founder, Raghu Mohan, said.

Springworks, a Bengaluru-based revenue-funded, HRTech startup said with today's decision developers can now work on blockchain projects around the world and participate in the upside.

"This is a historic decision by the Supreme Court. The RBI circular meant that even though there was no ban on crypto, developers and startups were indirectly disincentivised to work on crypto projects because of the banking ban," Kartik Mandaville, CEO, Springworks said.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, in its 180-page verdict said, "When the consistent stand of RBI is that they have not banned VCs (virtual currencies) and when the Government of India is unable to take a call despite several committees coming up with several proposals including two draft bills, both of which advocated exactly opposite positions, it is not possible for us to hold that the impugned measure is proportionate." PTI HV

Supreme Court Scolds RBI over Cryptocurrency/Bitcoin Trading Ban

Indian apex court, the Supreme Court of India, slammed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over cryptocurrency ban in the country. The judges at the court asked that why it chose to ban bitcoin trading when it could regulate it. The judges compared the cryptocurrency trading market to that of stock-trading, wondering if one could be governed despite the inherent investment risks, then what stopped the central bank from not regulating the other.

Hearing ends here.

Arguments will resume tomorrow by RBI and the same will be followed by Rejoinder by the Petitioners.

Thank you! pic.twitter.com/1GhQSu2Neu

— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) August 20, 2019

Crypto Kanoon, an India-based bitcoin advocacy group, reported live accounts on the Crypto vs. RBI case via its Twitter profile. The updates revealed that Ashim Sood, the counsel representing the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), presented bitcoin as a nascent industry which needed oversight.

The advocate discussed how other countries are developing new legal frameworks to make space for assets like bitcoin. But instead of taking cues from developed nations like Singapore and the US, RBI took an unpleasant stance and banned bitcoin trading altogether.

Advocate Shyam Diwan, the counsel representing the RBI, called bitcoin a private cryptocurrency which could have a direct impact on India’s monetary and payment systems. He argued that RBI had issued notices to discourage people from investing in these assets. But when they did not stop, the central bank had to take extreme measures such as banning the banking access to exchanges altogether.

“Crypto has some monetary characteristics, and people’s consensus drives its value,” said Diwan, as cited by Crypto Kanoon. “If more and more people continue to adopt them as a means of payment, then it might compromise our monetary system badly. It also has the ability to [conduct] cross border transactions. That is where the problem lies.”

The Supreme Court will now continue to hear the case tomorrow.

Read the Order of the Court for today.#CryptoKanoonExpress pic.twitter.com/ZC25Xn33D7

— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) August 20, 2019

Source - Davit Babayan - NewsBTC

Inter-Ministerial group Suggests Ban of Private Cryptocurrencies in India

An inter-ministerial committee has suggested banning of private cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, and criminalising any activities related to virtual currencies. It, however, pitched for introduction of an official digital currency with a status of a legal tender and appropriately regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. The report by the committee was released on Monday.

The government had constituted an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on November 2, 2017, under the chairmanship of the economic affairs secretary, with secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Sebi chairman and an RBI deputy governor as members to study the issues related to virtual currencies, and propose specific action.

"As for private cryptocurrencies, given the risks associated with them and volatility in their prices, the group has recommended banning of the cryptocurrencies in India and imposing fines and penalties for carrying on of any activities connected with cryptocurrencies in India," said a release in this regard.

The report said that other than Bitcoin, several other cryptocurrencies have emerged, including Ethereum, Ripple and Cardano.

The development comes just after a tech lawyer has uploaded a copy of a draft bill that seeks to ban cryptocurrencies in India and to be deliberated on by the Parliament of India. The draft bill aims to completely ban cryptocurrencies in the country.

As of now, there are around 2,116 cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalisation of USD 119.46 billion, it added.

"Committee is very receptive and supportive of distributed ledger technologies and recommends its widespread use in delivering financial services. It also opens up door for a possible official digital rupee. Private crypto currencies are of no real value. Rightly banned," Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said in a tweet.

The committee has also suggested a draft legislation - the Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019.

This report and the draft bill will now be examined in consultation with all the departments concerned and regulatory authorities, before a final decision is taken by the government, the release said.

Meanwhile, the report has also highlighted the positive aspect of distributed-ledger technology (DLT) and suggested various applications, especially in financial services, for use of DLT in India.

"The DLT can be of great benefit to India in several financial and nonfinancial areas. In finance, DLT can be particularly beneficial in the areas of trade financing, lowering the costs of personal identification for KYC related issues, and improving access to credit," as per a recommendation of the panel.

The DLT-based systems can be used by banks and other financial firms for processes such as loan-issuance tracking, collateral management, fraud detection and claims management in insurance, and reconciliation systems in the securities market.

Also, regulators including the RBI, Sebi, IRDA, PFRDA and IBBI should also focus on DLT to explore building of appropriate regulations for development of the technology in their respective areas.

As virtual currencies and its underlying technology are still evolving, the group has proposed that the government may establish a standing committee to revisit the issues addressed in the report as and when required.

However, the group also said the government should have an open mind on the cryptocurrencies.

"The committee is of the view that it would be advisable to have an open mind regarding the introduction of an official digital currency in India," the report said.

As per the panel, which is against private virtual currency, there is no underlying intrinsic value of these private cryptocurrencies.

"These private cryptocurrencies lack all the attributes of a currency. There is no fixed nominal value of these private cryptocurrencies i.e. neither act as any store of value nor they are a medium of exchange," it said.

Since their inception, cryptocurrencies have demonstrated extreme fluctuations in their prices. Therefore, the committee was of "clear view" that the private crytocurrencies should not be allowed.

"These crytocurrencies cannot serve the purpose of a currency. The private cryptocurrencies are inconsistent with the essential functions of money/currency, hence private cryptocurrencies cannot replace fiat currencies," it said.

Virtual currency is therefore distinguished from the Fiat currency of a country that is designated as its legal tender.

Earlier, the RBI had set up a committee to explore feasibility of launching an official digital currency amid central banks around the world exploring the option of introducing fiat digital currencies. PTI KPM NKD

Govt of India's SWAYAM is Offering Free E-Course on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

SWAYAM -- a programme initiated by Government of India -- is offering a free computer science course on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

The 12-week undergraduate course named "Blockchain Architecture Design and Use Cases" is a joint venture from academia and industry, where the target is to cover both the conceptual as well as application aspects of Blockchain, including the fundamental design and architectural primitives of Blockchain, the system and the security aspects, along with various use cases from different application domains.

The online course runs from 29th July to 18th October and the exam will be on 17th November for those wanting to obtain a certificate from the course. The curriculum of the course include Hyperledger, IBM Blockchain Cloud, Ethereum development tools & Quorum, and for self-study SWAYAM website refers to books including "Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies" by Andreas Antonopoulos among others.

As per SWAYAM, "The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centers."

The certification exam is optional and costs ₹ 1000. The certificate received will have the logos of NPTEL,IBM and IIT Kharagpur. NPTEL or "National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning" is an initiative by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for creating course contents in engineering and science.

The exam will be conducted in various cities across the country which will be revealed at the time of signing up. Cities that have held exams for other Swayam courses include Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Thane, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Launched in August last year, SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) aims to provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses. The program, backed by the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.

At present about 1550+ MOOCs courses are listed on SWAYAM of which 800+ courses are already delivered. About 34 Lakhs students have enrolled in these courses.

It is intended to host about 2000 courses and 80000 hours of learning material, within two years: covering school, under-graduate, post-graduate, engineering, law and other professional courses. It is expected to support 3 Crores users in the next few years.

Via ~ Bitcoin.com

India's Jail Term for Crypto Usage - Facts and Myths

Few days back, a report claimed that India is considering to put a law wherein there will be a jail term of one to 10 years for those who mine, hold or sell cryptocurrencies. Though, Crypto experts in India have remain in denial mode and even questioned the report by Bloomberg Quint.

Analysis of the Paid Bloomberg Article reporting '10 years Jail for Crypto investors'

1. No source
2. Clickbait article that's kept Paid
3. Even if it is true, it's only a suggestion to govt, not official notice

I refuse to share the article link as it isn't worth promoting.

— Shalini (Indian CryptoGirl) ⚡ (@DesiCryptoHodlr) June 7, 2019

With the huge buzz & miss-understanding around Crypt & India going on, here are few facts pertaining to Cryptocurrencies in India and ongoing case in apex court of India.

Fact 1

Cyrptocurrency is neither legal nor illegal in the India[/one_third]

Fact 2

RBI has asked banks to stop working with individuals and businesses that deal in crypto. 

Fact 3

Last year, Indian government had constituted a panel led by the Finance Secretary Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg to draft regulations for cryptocurrencies.[/one_third]

---

Matter 1 - Supreme Court Hearing on July 23

“The Supreme Court of India has set a new date to hear the crypto case, i.e July 23 (Tuesday).

"Mondays and Fridays are ‘miscellaneous’ days of the supreme court and the present matter is considered to be of a ‘non-miscellaneous’ nature." The last court order released confirms the new date, saying, “Upon hearing the counsel the court made the following order … List the matter on 23rd July, 2019,”

Source - Naimish Sanghvi @Twitter

Matter 2 - 10 years Jail for Crypto Traders, Holders, Miners

The draft of Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019 was first accessed by Bloomberg Quint (as claimed) and that draft reads;
[blockquote footer=""]Whoever directly or indirectly mines, generates, holds, sells, deals in, transfers, disposes of or issues cryptocurrency or any combination thereof with an intent to use it for any of the purposes mentioned in, or directly or indirectly uses cryptocurrency for any of the activities mentioned in, clauses (e), (g) and /or (h) of sub-section (1) of Section 8 shall be punishable with fines as may be prescribed by the Central Government in the First Schedule or with imprisonment which shall not be less than one year but which may extend up to ten years, or both.[/blockquote]

Also, according to the draft Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019, written by Bloombergquint’s author Nikunj Ohri - the government will also propose the introduction of an official ‘Digital Rupee’ in consultation with the central board of RBI.

If the drafted bill becomes the law, cryptocurrency holders will have 90 days to declare and dispose off cryptocurrencies “in accordance with the prescription of central government."

Matter 3 - RBI Denies Report of ban on cryptocurrencies report earlier published by Economics Times

[caption id="attachment_131053" align="aligncenter" width="690"]  Source - Varun Sethi @Twitter[/caption]

As per an RTI, filed by Varun Sethi, a lawyer specializing in blockchain, Reserve Bank of India has already denied any involvement and knowledge about the ban on cryptocurrencies. In that RTI's response, the RBI said it had no knowledge of such a bill and it had not received the draft for perusal.



Matter 4 – Crypto & Blockchain Community Stubborn to Bring Change Through National-Level Conference

At the centre of ongoing buzz around crypto & blockchain regulations in India, there’s a national-level conference soon to be happening in Bangalore. The latest report of 10 Year Jail Bill Report by Bloomberg Quint has led many crypto enthusiasts, traders, hodlers, miners and investors to know the depth of upcoming crypto & blockchain regulations by top leaders of Indian blockchain & crypto community.

Also, it's worth to note, Akshay Aggarwal whose name often comes under leading crypto news platforms like Cointelegraph, Bitcoin.Com, Coindesk, and many other top crypto-news portals, has recently marked its presence at the Swiss-tour, led by Swissnex to study and explore blockchain-ecosystem of Switzerland. His latest coverage about Swiss- blockchain study tour on Cointelegraph can be found here -

As India Dapp Fest is just around the corner, Indian crypto & blockchain community is rushing to attend the conference to know crucial facts behind the scene. On top of all, this is the only event in India in 2019 that is launching blockchain-friendly regulation report that was prepared by bringing together the voice of India through nationwide road shows during the month of March & April.

India Dapp Fest – 11th June – 15th June
Hackathon – 11th June – 13th June
Conference – 14th June – 15th June

Indian Govt Proposes A 10-year Jail Sentence for using Cryptocurrencies

India has proposed a jail term of one to 10 years for those who mine, hold or sell cryptocurrencies, said a draft proposal bill 'Banning Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019', reported Bloomberg Quint.

The bill, which is still in draft stage, is prepared by a panel led by Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. The panel reportedly has a number of members of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), representatives from investigative agencies and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) among others.

According to the report, involvement in cryptocurrency is an offense deemed as "cognisable and non-bailable" and those breaking the new rules may face up to a ten-year prison sentence as well as hefty fines, amounting to up to three times their gains.

If the drafted bill gets implemented to becomes a law then cryptocurrency holders will have 90 days to declare and dispose of cryptocurrencies "in accordance with the prescription of central government."

"The penalty imposed on the accused, according to the bill, shall be either thrice the loss caused to the system, or three-fold the gains made by him/her, whichever is higher," Bloomberg Quint writes. "If the loss or gain can’t be reasonably determined, the maximum fine that can be imposed may be notified by the government."

While the draft proposed strict actions against people dealing in cryptocurrencies, it also advocates introduction of an official digital currency for India. The 'Digital Rupee' will be introduced after consulting the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

It was in September 2017 that it was reported that India could launch its own fiat Cryptocurrency Called 'Lakshmi'. However in early of this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) claimed it was no longer planning to issue a digital currency.

The regressive draft bill on banning cryptocurrency is in contrast to what two economic powerhouses of the world -- the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank -- are said to be working on. The two global agencies are reportedly working on a private cryptocurrency to study blockchain technologies and their real-world applications.

​Common Man Suffer while Rich get Richer - 68% of Wealthy Individuals Invested in Cryptocurrencies, Says Global Study

A latest survey by one of world's largest financial advisory firm, deVere Group, says that 68% of wealthy individuals across the globe will invest or have already invested in cryptocurrencies.

The survey, conducted by the Dubai-based deVere Group, an independent financial advisory organization, polled over 700 of the firm’s clients who reside in various countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Qatar, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Spain, France and South Africa.

In the survey’s context, a high-net-worth individual was considered one with over £1 million ($1.3 million) worth of investable assets.

"This is the sad part of Crypto ban. Only the common man will suffer while the rich get richer. Always the same #IndiaWantsCrypto," said Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, in his series of tweets made objecting India's crypto ban.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group said, "The research shows that wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies. There is growing, universal acceptance that cryptocurrencies are the future of money – and the future is now. High net worth individuals are not prepared to miss out on this and are rebalancing their investment portfolios towards these digital assets."

"Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail. Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat," he said.

Speaking against the crypto ban, WazirX founder Nischal said in a tweet, "This is day 187. We need to tweet to our minister everyday till we get a reply. The more we tweet, more chances of our voice being heard & crypto getting a positive regulation in India. RT, Like, Share as much as you can every day. Only together can we make this happen.

Nischal, a software developer turned entrepreneur, who has built Crowdfire, an AI-driven marketing assistant used by over 15 million users, has launched Crypto Exchange start-up WazirX in March 2018 in response to the current exchange standards in India.

Dear @arunjaitley @narendramodi

Survey by one of world's largest financial advisory firm says that 68% of wealthy individuals will invest in Crypto

This is the sad part of Crypto ban. Only the common man will suffer while the rich get richer. Always the same #IndiaWantsCrypto pic.twitter.com/OMqPnsVtw3

— Nischal (WazirX) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) May 7, 2019

In December last year, there were some reports that India may lift ban on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple as an interdisciplinary committee on cryptocurrencies in India formed by the central government had reportedly recommended lifting the ban and legalize it.

However, no substantial steps or even discussions, opinions were heard from crypto entrepreneurs. And, amid general elections in the country, the matter again gets back into long waiting queue.

Last year in May, Indian apex court, the Supreme Court (SC) of India, barred all high courts from filing petitions against Reserve Bank of India's cryptocurrency ban. The move comes when several cryptocurrency firms had filed a petition with the high court saying -- The RBI’s new policy is "arbitrary, unfair and unconstitutional".

Nonetheless, few leading banks and top notch companies of the country including Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), HDFC Bank and ABG Shipyard and few others, have launched crypto and blockchain-based pilots for internal treasury management. These organizations have reportedly integrated cryptos and distributed ledger technology (DLT) into their operations, using the nascent technologies to pay vendors, suppliers and as a transparent treasury management tool,

Source - Irish Tech News

India May Lift Ban on Cryptocurrency As Govt Panel Push for Legalization

India's ban on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple could be removed as the second interdisciplinary committee on cryptocurrencies in India formed by the central government is likely to recommend lifting the ban and legalize it. Did you know? you can now perform gb WhatsApp download from your phone. Check out softgoza for more information

The committee, which will submit its recommendations to the Finance ministry around February 2019, already has two meetings and is in favour of legalising cryptocurrencies in India, which are currently banned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), upon recommendations by an earlier government committee back in mid-2017.

There is a general consensus that cryptocurrency cannot be dismissed as completely illegal. It needs to be legalized with strong riders, said the report citing a senior official who attended the panel’s meetings.

This means that India may see crypto legalization in 2019, albeit with heavy regulation.

Although RBI has put a ban on cryptocurrencies in April this year, the central bank of India isn’t giving up on the idea of a cryptocurrency completely, as in September 2017 it was reported that RBI is planning to introduce a fiat digital currency called 'Lakshmi' coin, which would become an alternative to the Indian rupee for digital transactions, and unlike bitcoin which is a non-fiat digital currency, the new one will be fiat-cryptocurrency.

If the ban on cryptocurrencies managed to get lifted completely in India, then there are several crypto-based startups lined up for entering the country's market. In January, an Indonesian startup called Pundi X announced that it is preparing to launch point-of-sale network in India so that people in the country can buy and invest in cryptocurrencies not just only online but offline as well.

Just few days back, it was also reported that Facebook is also wants to enter India with its own virtual currency as it is said to be working on making a cryptocurrency called 'Stablecoin' that will let users transfer money on WhatsApp messaging app, with India being first remittances market Facebook will be focusing at.

Geneva, Switzerland-based startup, MoonX, which is a decentralized ownership crypto exchange founded by an Indian entrepreneur, is also set to launch a decentralised non-profit trading platform for cryptocurrencies in India.

Via - CoinGeek | Source - New India Express

[Top Image - Golegal.co.za]

India’s 1st Cryptocurrency ATM Unveiled in Bangalore; 30 More ATMs to be Installed

Indian crypto assets & blockchain company Unocoin has unveiled India's first cryptocurrency ATM by installing one at Kemp Fort Mall in Bangalore. These ATM machines can be used by Unocoin's KYC verified customers for deposit INR to, and withdraw INR from their Unocoin or Unodax account. Check out Brighter Guide to stay updated with current and useful knowledge about today’s technology.

After installing its first ATM in Bangalore, the company will install two more at Mumbai and Delhi in a couple of weeks. The company plans to install total of 30 ATMs in these three cities.

According to Unocoin CEO, Sathvik Vishwanath, the ATMs deployed by Unocoin do not need any banking partnerships and are stand-alone machines that can accept and dispense cash.

 Unocoin ATM at Bangalore

This development came within a week after an another cryptoexchange Zebpay had announced its shut down after the long fight the exchange has given to India's central bank,RBI, which has banned the banks from doing any transaction involving cryptocurrencies.

CEO Vishwanath had told news.Bitcoin.com that, initially, the company plans to deploy 30 machines in three Indian cities. “These ATMs help people to cash in and cash out which was not possible before” due to the crypto banking ban imposed by the country’s central bank.

By using these ATM machines, users however are subjected to limits on deposits and withdrawals per transaction and per day subject to cash handling restrictions in India. The minimum amount for deposits and withdrawals is 1,000 rupees (~$13.57) and must be in multiples of 500 rupees.

How does the ATM work?

Unocoin believes that these ATMs will able to able to play the role that was earlier being taken care of by banks before the RBI ban.

To deposit INR into his Unocoin/Unodax account, a user would reach to an ATM and enter his User ID and the OTP that he just received as SMS on his registered mobile number. The user would then confirm his account details and deposit the funds into the ATM machine. Instantly his Unocoin account will be updated with the deposited funds that he can use on Unocoin to buy BTC or ETH, or he can use it on Unodax to place BID orders on 30 various crypto assets.

Amounts between Rs1,000 ($13.55), and Rs10,000 can be deposited or withdrawn.

Source - Unocoin.com

India's 1st Bitcoin Company Shuts Down Amid RBI's Crypto Ban

It all started in late 2012 when Mahin Gupta started India's first Bitcoin exchange, buysellbitco.in, and made it most trusted and used exchange in India pioneering online purchase of Bitcoin in the country and voted as best new bitcoin company at CoinAgenda conference in Las Vegas in 2014. Later in September 2014, Buysellbitco.inwas was rebranded to Zebpay -- a bitcoin wallet. In 2016, the company announced that it had crossed a whopping ₹100 crore (~$15 Million) turnover milestone.

Everything was going well with Zebpay, one of the first to usher buying Bitcoins in India, until one silly day India's central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned banks from servicing crypto exchanges/wallets.

Despite the ban, Zebpay has survived and was up and running by introducing Crypto-to-Crypto trading but all gone in vain as on Friday, the crypto exchange Zebpay announced that it is shutting down after the long fight the exchange has given to prejudiced and pessimism about cryptocurrencies in India.

In its official blog post, ZebPay officially announced that it was forced to stop activity due to legal and regulatory obstacles.

"Despite regulatory and banking problems along our journey, we continued to look for solutions as we did not want India to miss the bus of digital assets that power the public blockchain," said the blog post of Zebpay.

[caption id="attachment_126431" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Zebpay Co-founders (From Left ) Sandeep Goenka, Mahin Gupta and Saurabh Agrawal [Image ForbesIndia.com, Mexy Xavier][/caption]

It further said, "At this point, we are unable to find a reasonable way to conduct the cryptocurrency exchange business. As a result, we are stopping our exchange activities. At 4 p.m. today (28 September 2018), we will cancel all unexecuted crypto-to-crypto orders and credit your coins / tokens back to your Zebpay wallet. No new orders will be accepted until further notice.”

In a statement to Crypto-News India, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zebpay Ajeet Khurana, said "The Indian environment is highly non-conducive to the crypto business. Our revenue model is only through transaction fees. So by shutting the exchange, we have effectively made our revenue zero. Naturally no company would want to do that if it has a choice.”

Notably in February 2017, Zebpay along with other bitcoin startups in India -- Unocoin, Coinsecure and Searchtrade, jointly launched Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India (DABFI) for the orderly and transparent growth of virtual currency market. It however didn't resulted into anything fruitful and nothing substantial happened in DABFI apart from the fact that in November 2017 the self-regulatory body eventually merged with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the internet industry body. The new merged entity is called as 'IAMAI FinTech Council' however even after this no new development has been heard since then.

Ironically, in January this year, a nationwide survey revealed that people in India have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping $3.5 billion. Seeing this, income tax (I-T) department had even sent notices to tens of thousands of such people who have done trading in any of the cryptocurrencies.

Zebpay’s might have lost its fight, but still there are quite a few Indian cryptocurrency exchanges up and running work without interruption and seek new solutions such as Peer-to-Peer transactions. These companies include WazirX, Koinex, LocalBitcoins, Unocoin, and many others.

Ripple To Giveaway 2 Bn of Its Cryptocurrency (XRP) Worth $880 Million To Entire India

In order to beat Bitcoin in cryptocurrency dominance in India, world’s 3rd largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ripple (XRP), has planned to giveaway two billion of Ripple in entire India, announced Asheesh Birla, Vice President of Product at Ripple.

Speaking at the panel on Scaling and Digital Disruption in Fintech, Birla further elaborated that Ripple "...looked early on at India, and we looked at two billion people - a huge market. And we decided, how do you get two billion people onto Ripple? Do we give the currency away to every Indian, that’s like two billion - just give it away?”

The company envisions to make it possible that Ripple (XRP) become the most dominant cryptocurrency in India and to encourage Indians to use the cryptocurrency -- a planned move that will streamline the process of XRP in the country.

Earlier this year, a nationwide survey revealed that people in India had invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US $3.5 billion.

With today’s rate of XRP at around $0.45, two billion XRP would cost around $880 million, and based on the all-time high price of XRP, which could be achieved once again in the next rally of the cryptocurrency market, two billion XRP tokens could easily be worth worth roughly $7 billion.

However, given the difficulty involving the process of distributing XRP to billions of people in the region and the cost involved, Ripple has decided to secure strategic partnerships with the country’s largest banks. It is to be noted that, in last November, India's Axis Bank started using RippleNet, a Ripple’s blockchain-based payment platform, as a means of making cross-border transactions.

“That was one idea. But then we realised that if you get the top three banks in India onto Ripple, you get 80 percent of the market share. And then we looked at – where’s the future? And so we realised in the next five years, one billion people will become banked in India, but they’ll be banked through their phone. So then we started targeting mobile phone providers and telcos. And so now, I think that in our pipeline we have probably 50 percent of the market in India, either integrated onto Ripple or in the deal, in the sort of pipeline to be signed to India.”

Ripple had begun spreading its business in Indian subcontinent by setting up its office in Mumbai, in September 2017.

India is currently the world's third largest economy in terms of real GDP after the USA and the People's Republic of China.

If Ripple succeeds in building a network of banks and billions of individual users in India, the liquidity network of the Ripple blockchain-based xRapid and xCurrent could be more valuable and most importantly, more efficient than banking systems.

Used by companies such as UniCredit, UBS and Santander, Ripple has been increasingly adopted by banks and payment networks as settlement infrastructure technology.

Via - The Currency Analytics | Coin Insider

Koinex Launches 'Loop', A P2P Platform to Transact in Digital Assets in Indian Rupees

Koinex, India’s first and largest digital assets exchange, has launched their peer-to-peer trading platform, Loop, for the Indian investors to transact in digital assets against INR fiat currency. The Loop network is fully integrated with Koinex to create their own ecosystem where one account can be used to access crypto/crypto corridors on Koinex and INR/crypto trades on Loop.

Loop is also the first P2P network in the country to introduce the concept of collateralized trading. Use of collaterals on digital assets trading ensures user authenticity and trustful order settlement with minimum disputes. It is form of guarantee to incentivise genuineness of the trading activity. Collateralization can set a new standard for trusted trading, which will be adopted by the industry.

Major highlights of Loop:

• One account for trading on both Koinex & Loop


• Currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum & Ripple


• Multiple payment options


• Action reminders like SMS and automated phone calls


• Direct communication via masked calling


• Technology-enabled dispute resolution mechanism

Elated on the launch of Loop, Rahul Raj, Co-Founder & CEO, Koinex said, “Loop is in line with our mission to transform India into a hotbed of blockchain technology development, as Loop is a step closer to decentralized trading. This is a world class platform designed for Indian traders to find true value for their digital assets in midst of the ongoing market uncertainty.”



Adding to it, Aditya Naik, Co-Founder & CBO, Koinex said, “Loop is built on the principles of decentralisation, trust, security, data privacy and ease-of-use, to ensure our users to have the same seamless trading experience they are used to on Koinex. In fact, for Koinex & Loop, we have mandatory user KYC verification, which is optional on other platforms. We also have introduced a rating mechanism to establish reputation of the traders on the network which will help the community know the genuine and trustworthy traders and ensure trusted trading, with minimal disputes. We are currently working on building sophisticated algorithms to enhance the trust factor and discourage fraudulent activity”

Recently when the digital assets prices were plummeting in the Indian market due to absence of the INR corridor, Koinex introduced TrueUSD (TUSD) as a stable coin on the exchange. The TrueUSD trading market allowed users to trade against a fiat-backed stable coin and also hold their earnings and profits in form of TUSD, shielded from the market price volatility. Similarly, in the midst of the ongoing market uncertainty, Koinex offers a one-stop solution to keep the industry alive with the release of Loop.

Loop went live on July 17, 2018 and is bundled directly into the Koinex ecosystem. Loop is a big step forward for Koinex in its mission to be India’s largest trustworthy platform for digital assets trading.

Koinex Launches 'Loop', A P2P Platform to Transact in Digital Assets in Indian Rupees

Koinex, India’s first and largest digital assets exchange, has launched their peer-to-peer trading platform, Loop, for the Indian investors to transact in digital assets against INR fiat currency. The Loop network is fully integrated with Koinex to create their own ecosystem where one account can be used to access crypto/crypto corridors on Koinex and INR/crypto trades on Loop.

Loop is also the first P2P network in the country to introduce the concept of collateralized trading. Use of collaterals on digital assets trading ensures user authenticity and trustful order settlement with minimum disputes. It is form of guarantee to incentivise genuineness of the trading activity. Collateralization can set a new standard for trusted trading, which will be adopted by the industry.

Major highlights of Loop:

• One account for trading on both Koinex & Loop


• Currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum & Ripple


• Multiple payment options


• Action reminders like SMS and automated phone calls


• Direct communication via masked calling


• Technology-enabled dispute resolution mechanism

Elated on the launch of Loop, Rahul Raj, Co-Founder & CEO, Koinex said, “Loop is in line with our mission to transform India into a hotbed of blockchain technology development, as Loop is a step closer to decentralized trading. This is a world class platform designed for Indian traders to find true value for their digital assets in midst of the ongoing market uncertainty.”



Adding to it, Aditya Naik, Co-Founder & CBO, Koinex said, “Loop is built on the principles of decentralisation, trust, security, data privacy and ease-of-use, to ensure our users to have the same seamless trading experience they are used to on Koinex. In fact, for Koinex & Loop, we have mandatory user KYC verification, which is optional on other platforms. We also have introduced a rating mechanism to establish reputation of the traders on the network which will help the community know the genuine and trustworthy traders and ensure trusted trading, with minimal disputes. We are currently working on building sophisticated algorithms to enhance the trust factor and discourage fraudulent activity”

Recently when the digital assets prices were plummeting in the Indian market due to absence of the INR corridor, Koinex introduced TrueUSD (TUSD) as a stable coin on the exchange. The TrueUSD trading market allowed users to trade against a fiat-backed stable coin and also hold their earnings and profits in form of TUSD, shielded from the market price volatility. Similarly, in the midst of the ongoing market uncertainty, Koinex offers a one-stop solution to keep the industry alive with the release of Loop.

Loop went live on July 17, 2018 and is bundled directly into the Koinex ecosystem. Loop is a big step forward for Koinex in its mission to be India’s largest trustworthy platform for digital assets trading.

Supreme Court Barred All Petition Against RBI's Cryptocurrency Crackdown

Indian apex court, the Supreme Court (SC) of India, has barred all high courts from filing petitions against Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) cryptocurrency curbing circular, that it released last month.

As cryptocurrency adopters, exchanges and advocacy groups move various high courts (HC) across the country in filing petitions against the RBI’s circular from April -- effectively barring banks from processing all cryptocurrency purchases -- the Supreme Court has, in a hearing on Thursday, ruled that HCs will no longer allow any petitions to be filed, domestic news resource Crypto Kanoon revealed.

Desired clarity on today’s SC Hearing: SC refused to stay RBI circular and the same is still in operation. No petition can be filed in any High Court of India against 6th April circular and the already-pending petitions will be transferred to the SC. #RBI

— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) May 17, 2018

Post RBI's circular banning banks from servicing crypto exchanges, a number of cryptocurrency companies including the exchange operator Kali Digital and Flintstone Tech, a crypto trading and storage platform, moved the Delhi High Court against this decision of RBI. The RBI’s new policy is “arbitrary, unfair and unconstitutional”, said the cryptocurrency firms while filing a petition with the high court.

Earlier this month, four more digital currency exchanges across the country challenged the RBI circular and its constitutional validity with a writ petition.

Last month, several bitcoin exchanges hinted that they turn up to SC in order to challenge RBI's crackdown on digital currency, which they think are not justified.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter on July 20 when it will hear related petitions filed at the court.

To recall, in January, a nationwide survey in India has revealed that in last 17 months of period, people in the country have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US$3.5 billion.

Interestingly, despite all these crackdown and bans by Indian goverment agencies, a nationwide survey in India has revealed that in last 17 months of period, people in the country have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US$3.5 billion.

Moreover, it may also be recalled that a blockchain startup of Indonesian-origin called Pundi X had announced in January that it is preparing to launch point-of-sale network in India so that people in India can buy and invest in cryptocurrencies not just only online but offline as well.

Via - CCN.com

Supreme Court Barred All Petition Against RBI's Cryptocurrency Crackdown

Indian apex court, the Supreme Court (SC) of India, has barred all high courts from filing petitions against Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) cryptocurrency curbing circular, that it released last month.

As cryptocurrency adopters, exchanges and advocacy groups move various high courts (HC) across the country in filing petitions against the RBI’s circular from April -- effectively barring banks from processing all cryptocurrency purchases -- the Supreme Court has, in a hearing on Thursday, ruled that HCs will no longer allow any petitions to be filed, domestic news resource Crypto Kanoon revealed.

Desired clarity on today’s SC Hearing: SC refused to stay RBI circular and the same is still in operation. No petition can be filed in any High Court of India against 6th April circular and the already-pending petitions will be transferred to the SC. #RBI

— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) May 17, 2018

Post RBI's circular banning banks from servicing crypto exchanges, a number of cryptocurrency companies including the exchange operator Kali Digital and Flintstone Tech, a crypto trading and storage platform, moved the Delhi High Court against this decision of RBI. The RBI’s new policy is “arbitrary, unfair and unconstitutional”, said the cryptocurrency firms while filing a petition with the high court.

Earlier this month, four more digital currency exchanges across the country challenged the RBI circular and its constitutional validity with a writ petition.

Last month, several bitcoin exchanges hinted that they turn up to SC in order to challenge RBI's crackdown on digital currency, which they think are not justified.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter on July 20 when it will hear related petitions filed at the court.

To recall, in January, a nationwide survey in India has revealed that in last 17 months of period, people in the country have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US$3.5 billion.

Interestingly, despite all these crackdown and bans by Indian goverment agencies, a nationwide survey in India has revealed that in last 17 months of period, people in the country have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US$3.5 billion.

Moreover, it may also be recalled that a blockchain startup of Indonesian-origin called Pundi X had announced in January that it is preparing to launch point-of-sale network in India so that people in India can buy and invest in cryptocurrencies not just only online but offline as well.

Via - CCN.com

Zebpay Almost Bypass RBI's Crypto Ban By Launching Crypto-to-Crypto Trading

​Zebpay, an India's leading cryptocurrency exchange, has launched crypto-to-crypto trading on its platform. The launch came within few weeks after the Reserve Bank of India banning banks from servicing crypto exchanges.

Crypto-to-Crypto trading means that one can exchange one cryptocurrency for another. For an instance, one can easily exchange cryptocurrency Ripple in exchange of Bitcoin.

In its first crypto-to-crypto trading pair, Zebpay launched ETH/BTC pair and will launch more crypto pairs in coming weeks.

Zebpay, in its official blog's post, announced that, " Zebpay is excited to announce the launch of crypto-to-crypto trading. Now, you can easily exchange one cryptocurrency for another…The first pair we’re introducing is ETH/BTC. More crypto pairs coming soon."

The “crypto-to-crypto trading feature will be available in the new app update: Android version 2.0.14 and iOS version 2.0.24,” said Zebpay in its blog post. However, instead of INR this fee will charged in Bitcoins, bypassing the RBI virtual ban on cryptocurrencies under which the central bank bans banks and financial institutions under its control from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges.

Zebpay has made this move in order to keep customer funds and assets secure as the sudden disruption in banking services due to RBI ban could affect company's ability to service deposits and withdrawals, until banking services are restored. Zebpay also warned its user to keep this risk factor in mind while making investment decisions. Meanwhile, Zebpay is exploring various other options to bypass the RBI mandate on virtually banning cryptocurrency trading in India almost impossible through exchanges like Zebpay

Established in 2015 and headquartered in Mumbai, Zebpay claims to be India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. In March, the company said that its app had more than three million downloads, making it the most downloaded cryptocurrency app on both iOS and Android in India. Zebpay has recently celebrated its 3 million-th app download.

According to Zebpay, while it is estimated that 10 million Indians are investing in financial markets, 5 million Indians are said to be trading cryptocurrencies. “This translates to a market penetration of 60% for Zebpay with its 3 million downloads,” the company emphasized.

To recall, in January, a nationwide survey in India has revealed that in last 17 months of period, people in the country have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping US$3.5 billion.

Also, despite of all this ban and blocking of crypto currencies in India, a blockchain startup of Indonesian-origin called Pundi X announced in January that it is preparing to launch point-of-sale network in India so that people in India can buy and invest in cryptocurrencies not just only online but offline as well.

India’s Cryptocurrency Exchanges May Turn To Supreme Court To Challenge RBI

Post RBI's virtual ban on cryptocurrencies wherein it gave banks a time-frame of three months to implement the decision by cracking down on trade of virtual currencies in India, the cryptocurrency exchanges are now looking to challenge the central bank’s decision in India’s supreme court.

“We are looking at filing a petition to challenge the RBI’s order. At the moment we are working on it and trying to figure out if we should get together with the other exchanges and do it collectively,” the head of a cryptocurrency exchange told Quartz, requesting anonymity. An another anonymous head of another cryptocurrency exchange, too, said that the legal route was being explored. do something before the right time

The exchanges believe that RBI has taken rolled out its orders before the right time wherein its is too early in India for cryptocurrency to become a normal.

“It has come with this overarching order that can be challenged on several counts,” said Anirudh Rastogi, managing partner at law firm TRA that represents several bitcoin exchanges in the country. “There is a right to trade and it cannot be restricted in absolute terms. Only reasonable restrictions can be imposed and applied but a complete prohibition as restrictive as this was unnecessary.”

Rastogi added that perhaps the RBI’s motive was to safeguard the economy and investors against money laundering and terror financing, but a complete crackdown isn’t the only way to achieve it.

It is to be noted that Indian government hasn’t banned digital currencies. As a matter of fact, a committee has been set up under Subhash Garg, secretary of economic affairs in the finance ministry, to prepare a draft law on virtual currency, which is likely to be submitted by March 2019.

Under these circumstances, players in the Indian virtual currency ecosystem believe that the RBI’s crackdown was not justified.

It is also to be noted that with the increased popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, fraud and crimes involving the same have too increased over the time and then started what could be called as the last resort -- knocking on Supreme Court's doors.

The Game of Cryptocurrency PILs in The Supreme court

In November 2017, the first ever Cryptocurrency related Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was brought before the Supreme Court in by Mr. Vijay Pal Dalmia Advocate, by way of Writ Petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking a ban on sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, litecoin etc in India. The said Writ was ordered by Apex Court to be treated as a representation and Reserve Bank of India was directed to examine the same and communicate its decision on the representation within a specified time. However, the RBI instead of clarifying its stance on the issue evasively responded while giving information about the appointment of Inter-Disciplinary Committee by the Ministry of Finance.

Thereafter, the same Petitioner filed another PIL seeking that cryptocurrencies and all the platforms including mobile applications, websites etc. sued for sale and purchase of crypto, be declared as illegal. Just after this, another PIL was filed by Dwaipayan Bhowmick seeking the regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in India. The petitioner also mentioned the difficulties faced by the investors and it was prayed to the Supreme Court that the Cryptocurrencies should either be regulated by a legal framework or it should be completely banned.

The aforesaid PILs are pending adjudication before the Supreme Court since November 2017 and surprisingly the Government has not disclosed its stance before the Supreme Court whether it is in favor or against the Crypto ecosystem.

In a recent development, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has also filed an impleadment application in the ongoing litigation praying that since the outcome of the decision of Supreme Court will have a bearing on its interest, therefore, it should also be allowed to advance its stance in the issue. There is strong likelihood that the new RBI notification severing fiat-crypto ties will be challenged in the Court of Law. So now the parties with competing interests are face-to-face before the Supreme Court, a gavel stroke of which will decide the future of cryptocurrencies in India.

It is to be noted that cryprocurrencies' startups association em>Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India (DABFI) had announced its merger with IAMAI in November 2017.

[The above development was first reported in Quartz | Other references - Ccn.com]