Following the restrictive steps taken by global banking leaders like Citibank, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, HDFC bank has followed suit and has barred the usage of its credit and debit cards for purchasing cryptocurrency and Bitcoins.
In an open communication to its customers, HDFC bank has stated that there are global apprehensions about the trade and exchange of cryptocurrencies, and RBI has also cautioned about the many different risks while dealing with these currencies.
A cryptocurrency is an open source peer-to-peer electronic cash system which runs on blockchain technology, which is a distributed ledger which contains details of every transaction, which allows a user’s computer to verify the validity of each transaction of this virtual currency. So, the transactions are transparent to every user.
In India, you can purchase cryptocurrency and Bitcoins from dedicated exchanges like Unocoin or Zebpay by downloading their apps or using websites.
The price of bitcoins was a little less than 1000 dollars in 2016 and it sky rocketed to 20,000 dollars in 2017.looking at the lucrative returns and lack of other avenues of investments, because of a drop in rate of return, investors were confused and perplexed about investing in bitcoins.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that most governments have no takes on the legality of bitcoins, although countries like China and South Korea have warned investors about the risks involved in dealing with cryptocurrencies….India has imposed a tax on the profits made from the sale of Bitcoins…
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was recently quoted as saying:
“Government does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender or coins and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these cryptoassets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system,” he had said.
But still, the bitcoin exchanges responded to it by saying that it is “business as usual” even after the statement and said Jaitley’s comments were wrongly misinterpreted.
Only time will tell, what becomes of Bitcoins. Although some fronts are accepting it as revolutionary and a game changer, many legal entities have their apprehensions. As of now, investors have their fingers crossed and are waiting for clarity and a quick solution to the confusion
