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<ul><li>With the cryptocurrency bill looming large, consumers have been worried about their investments in <keyword id="2420795" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies">cryptocurrencies</keyword> like <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bitcoin">Bitcoin</keyword>, Ethereum and others.</li><li>We spoke to industry sources and exchanges to answer your questions, and help you understand if you should sell your Bitcoin and Ethereum investments.</li><li>One of the key takeaways is that you should not panic.</li><li>Read on to find out what you should do in case cryptocurrencies are banned.</li></ul>One of the biggest questions in the minds of Indians holding cryptocurrencies is if they should sell their crypto investments before the Indian government bans them. It is not an easy question to answer as there is little information from the government in this regard as of now. If you are panicking about your investments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies, we are here to answer your questions. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?" comment="subhead" text="Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?">Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?</cmsannotation> Don’t panic. Panic selling could prove to be counterproductive, especially since we don’t have enough information about the bill. “Cryptocurrency holders in India should not panic. They should wait for the government to reveal all the details about what is being banned or not, and then take a decision accordingly,” said Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX. “Consumers need not panic and sell their crypto investments. CoinDCX has put in safeguard measures to ensure investors are protected, and we have the liquidity to help consumers liquidate their investments if they want to,” said Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX. “Consumers who are holding cryptocurrencies should not sell their investments in haste. The information in the public domain is incomplete, the details are still not finalised and ban may not materialize,” said Arjun Vijay, co-founder of Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange. What happens if the government bans cryptocurrencies? The government will likely give investors some time to liquidate their cryptocurrency holdings, so you should not worry about it right now. “Even if the government bans cryptocurrencies, it will likely give some time to Indian investors to liquidate their assets,” Vijay further added. Will the government ban holding cryptocurrencies in foreign countries? The details are not available right now, so it is suggested that you wait and watch for official information from the government. Can I invest in cryptocurrencies via the Liberalised Remittance Scheme? It might be possible to invest in foreign countries taking advantage of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme that allows resident individuals in India to invest up to $2,50,000. However, in view of absence of details about the crypto ban, you should adopt a wait and watch approach. Will banks freeze my account if I invest in cryptocurrencies? This is unlikely as your bank account and cryptocurrency investments are not related. Will I be able to withdraw money from cryptocurrencies into my bank account? As things stand right now, there is no restriction on selling cryptocurrencies and withdrawing those funds into your bank account. Even if the government bans cryptocurrencies, it is likely to give some time to investors to liquidate their assets. “Consumers need not worry about cashing out their investments and receiving money in their bank accounts,” Gupta added, assuring that your money will not go down the drain. According to Shetty, millions of Indians hold over INR 10,000 crore in total in various forms in cryptocurrency investments. The government will give them a way out even if it bans cryptocurrency trading. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heres-what-6-crypto-experts-said-about-teslas-1-5-billion-investment-into-bitcoin/articleshow/80754586.cms">Here's what 6 crypto experts said about Tesla's $1.5 billion bitcoin investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/a-crypto-fear-and-greed-indicator-is-flashing-a-warning-signal-that-shows-investors-are-being-extremely-greedy-as-top-cryptocurrencies-hit-record-highs/articleshow/80771973.cms">A crypto 'fear and greed' indicator is flashing a warning signal that shows investors are being extremely greedy as top cryptocurrencies hit record highs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bitcoins-spike-drives-rebound-in-hard-hit-crypto-mining-stocks/articleshow/80589491.cms">Bitcoin's spike drives rebound in hard-hit crypto mining stocks</a>

“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill

Fortune 500 CEOs will tell you that India doesn’t exactly embrace change at a fast pace. Global investment gurus will tell you that there are two Indias around – one capitalist and the other socialist – and both are rarely in sync. Bottom line, India can be a frustrating place to do business, despite a market of 1.2 billion people. 
 The upstart virtual currency <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bitcoin">Bitcoin</keyword>, which has made a fortune out of disrupting conventional financial norms, probably thought it could sneak in guerrilla style into India and game the system. Instead, it just got tamed by the Reserve <keyword id="6355303" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bank-of-India">Bank of India</keyword>, the central bank of the country. 
 
Bitcoin basics 
If you are one of those for whom the penny doesn’t drop at the mention of Bitcoin, here’s a short primer. 
 
Bitcoin is a virtual currency, which is exchanged on a peer-to-peer basis. Unlike regular currencies, it has no nationality and therefore, no central bank. You can use Bitcoin not only to buy virtual goods but also real items, as long as the seller agrees to trade in the currency. 
 
More arcane details surround Bitcoin, but let’s concentrate on the money-making part. Bitcoins can be ‘mined’ by downloading software, which is a slow and dirty job. Otherwise, you can exchange real cash on Bitcoin exchanges to buy the virtual currency. 
 
This second method is proving to be really profitable. Compared to major currencies, Bitcoin’s exchange rate has gone up an average tenfold since it emerged in 2009. For people interested in cashless, anonymous, non-taxable transactions, Bitcoins are worth every nickel and dime. They are also invaluable in buying goods from the ‘underground’ market. 
 
Little wonder then that governments across the world have been watching the rise of the Bitcoin with increased wariness. 
 
Banking on India 
India may have been a Johnny-come-lately to the whole Bitcoin gig, but alternative monetary systems and currency transactions are an integral part of the country’s economic structure, rarely for the better and mostly for the worse. 
 Unaccounted, undeclared income, better known in India as ‘black money,’ is the country’s best kept open secret. Politicians fight elections with it; business people pay bribes with it and middle-class Indians buy homes and <keyword id="18712" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="Gold">gold</keyword> with it. 
 
If anything, it should be a surprise that Bitcoin adoption in India only exploded in 2013 when 70% of the 35,000-odd Bitcoin downloads in the country took place. Experts believe this growth has been spurred by an increasingly IT-savvy populace and remittances by Indians based abroad. 
 
The largest Indian Bitcoin exchange, the cleverly named BuySellBitco.in, had been expanding rapidly – rumoured to be transacting around Rs 120 million a month. It had tied up with major Indian private banks to facilitate online purchase and also offered regional language support to customers from southern India. What it didn’t plan out was being on the radar of the Indian authorities. That can never be a good thing, as the exchange soon found out. 
 
RBI reservations 
In India, the rule of law is often a flexible concept, but there are still some institutions not worth antagonising. One such entity is the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, the fiercely independent guardian of India’s monetary system, whose policies and pronouncements can, at times, even send the government into a tizzy. Bit-part virtual currency players are small fry in comparison. 
 
As it turned out, the RBI didn’t even have to declare a ban on Bitcoin. An innocuous-sounding <a href="http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=30247">Press release</a> was enough to short-circuit Bitcoin’s plans in India, at least for the short term. By advising traders in Bitcoin that they were essentially operating in a regulatory ‘Wild West’ where they could not expect the RBI to come play Sheriff in case things went south, the central bank covered all bases including its behind. 
 
The real deal Painting Bitcoin black, however, will not do justice to the complex real-world scenarios that virtual currencies pose for modern <keyword id="60655" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="financial-markets">financial markets</keyword> and commerce. The RBI, by playing it safe, has failed to address the needs of the savvy Internet consumer who wants to use virtual currency to experience a wealth of virtual and actual options. 
 Instead, the <keyword id="139536" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-central-bank">Indian central bank</keyword> should look at the progressive view German authorities have taken about Bitcoin and virtual currencies in general. Ironically, Germans have figured out a way to tax such transactions. If there is one thing governments should never be shy of, it is to find new ways of generating tax revenues. 
 Unfortunately, the <keyword id="6356435" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="US-Federal-reserve">US Federal Reserve</keyword>, too, has adopted an ambiguous policy towards the Bitcoin. The US has the largest population of Bitcoin users in the world and while the Fed has approved the use of the currency, the IRS has not issued any tax guidelines. 
 
For better or worse, it’s time to face up to both sides of the same coin.

Bitcoin’s India Travails – Attempting Big Change Through Small
Change

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>American venture capital in Bitcoin continues to cross the ocean. 
On Monday, Barry Silbert's Bitcoin Opportunity Corp. announced it had invested $250,000 in Bangalore-based Unocoin.
The firm is less than a year old but already claims the title as the largest and fastest-growing bitcoin company in India. It does a little bit of everything, including trading, storage, and merchant processing. 
Year to date, India ranks 18th worldwide for number of overall raw Bitcoin protocol downloads <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/stats/map?dates=2014-01-01+to+2014-08-11">according to SourceForge</a>, more than many European countries, including Romania, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/28/us-romania-bitcoin-idUSKBN0FX0VQ20140728">which was just highlighted by Reuters as a Bitcoin hub</a>.
India's central bank has clarified that it would allow Bitcoin businesses to continue operating <a href="http://www.medianama.com/2014/01/223-rbi-bitcoin/">while warning of the cyptocurrency's risks to average investors</a>. 
Bitcoin evangelists have long said the opportunity in places like India that are home to large populations of "unbanked" citizens is enormous. In a joint statement, BOC and Unocoin noted 40% of India's urban population and 61% of its rural population lacks access to basic financial services. At the same time, remittances in India totaled over $70 billion in 2013.
"Bitcoin technology has the potential to provide sustainable solutions and smarter financial options to all sectors of India," the firms said. 
Of the nine investments Silbert's BOC has made in 2014, four have been in overseas companies. In July, a report from CoinDesk showed the absolute number of firms receiving investment in Q2 was now split 60-40between America and the rest of the world.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"></div></div>
When we talked with Silbert last month about his investment in a Swedish-based Bitcoin firm, he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/europe-bitcoin-investment-surge-2014-7">insisted</a> America would continue to lead the world as the top destination for Bitcoin investing. And we aren't suggesting there isn't significant interest here.
But the needs of Bitcoin users in America are different from those elsewhere. And the U.S. (and Canada) continue to trail other countries in terms of Bitcoin interest: Here's the year-to-date chart in Google Trends for "Bitcoin" - a crude measure to be sure but nonetheless telling:
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>
And the Unocoin investment marks the largest known to date in India's Bitcoin space, as well as one of the largest investments made by BOC outside of United States.
So it seems reasonable to say the makings of a trend are emerging.

Barry Silbert's Latest Investment Is More Evidence Bitcoin's Biggest Opportunities May Lie Outside The US

Way back when Bitcoin was invented, India was the first country to acknowledge it as an alternative monetary system. Though India started lauding Bitcoin without knowing the plethora of scams it could encourage, the political and economic conditions in the country were favorable for Bitcoin to thrive. However, the recent trends show that India is becoming the first country on the globe to regulate the cryptocurrency. The effects of demonetization When the Reserve Bank of India announced the demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes on November 8, 2016, the Indian public started realizing that cash was unreliable. During that time, the scenario gave a great impetus for the young people in the country to turn to Bitcoin. In fact around this time, a sizeable chunk of the corporate world in the country was already using Bitcoin. Since the digital coin gave a safer system for the public to invest their money, a growing number of people started resorting to the use of Bitcoin. Does not need a bank account A large segment of the Indian population still does not have a bank account. Bitcoin enables such individual to make financial transactions quickly and securely without a bank account. Indian companies and Bitcoin More than 500 merchants in India and five large enterprises in the country including Dell accepted payments in cryptocurrency. This number is fast growing today. No doubt Bitcoin is still not that popular in India. A lot of Indians highly prefer paper money. However, as per the study of the emerging trends in the country, the frenzy for Bitcoin is fast spreading in the country. Indian government and Bitcoin Earlier in 2019, the Supreme Court of Indi came up with a four-week deadline urging the government to bring in some regulations of the cryptocurrencies in the country. The government has already taken a firm stand to deal with cryptocurrency in a strict way and looking forward to banning it. Consultations have already begun on the bill called "Banning of Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currencies Bill 2019". These moves by the country show us that the government of India is clear with its hostile stand against cryptocurrency. What can happen to Bitcoin in India Expert circles say that the country could be seen banning cryptocurrency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Meanwhile, the Ministry of corporate affairs has pointed out that those dealing with Bitcoins are falsely induced of massive returns. These schemes are not transparent and they never fall into any legal framework that are regulated. Many gullible investors are seen falling victims to a number of scams connected with Bitcoins. RBI has gone a step further to announce that it can never provide services to individuals and businesses that are dealing with Bitcoins or settling in virtual currencies. BP Kanungo, Deputy Governor, RBI has stated, “We have decided to ring-fence the RBI regulated entities from the risk of dealing with entities associated with virtual currencies. They are required to stop having a business relationship with the entities dealing with virtual currencies forthwith and unwind the existing relationship within a period of three months". Severe measures contemplated in India It appears that the "Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019" draft has also on its proposal 10-year prison sentence for those individuals found mining, generating, selling, holding, transferring, disposing of, dealing with or issuing cryptocurrencies. Hence we could possibly see a ban on Bitcoins in India in the near future.

Explained: What is Cryptocurrency in India

<ul><li>More than 51 per cent of the total <keyword id="6354947" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">Bitcoin</keyword> trading volume on various <keyword id="2721952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> exchanges this year is fake.</li><li>According to data provided by niche news publisher BanklessTimes.com, the majority of this fake Bitcoin volume is due to wash trading.</li><li>According to the report, faking trading volume can be a way for exchanges to attract new customers.</li></ul>More than 51 per cent of the total Bitcoin trading volume on various crypto exchanges this year is fake amid volatile global economic conditions, a new report has claimed. Bitcoin is the blue chip of cryptocurrency and represents 40 per cent of the total crypto assets outstanding in the new and volatile crypto markets. Its market cap is currently at 382.25 billion. According to data provided by niche news publisher BanklessTimes.com, the majority of this fake Bitcoin volume is due to wash trading. Wash trading is illegal, where an asset is bought and sold simultaneously on the same platform to create false liquidity. This is often done by bots or spoofing orders. "It's difficult to talk about cryptocurrency without talking about Bitcoin. Yet, there is a concern that a large part of the daily traded volume of Bitcoin is fake. This puts into question the legitimacy of exchanges and the reliability of data," said Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes. Another factor contributing to the fake volume is stablecoins such as Tether (USDT).A Tether pairs very well with Bitcoin and is often used to buy and sell Bitcoin on exchanges. "This results in much volume being generated without any actual Bitcoin changing hands," said the report. According to the report, faking trading volume can be a way for exchanges to attract new customers. By appearing to be more popular than they actually are, exchanges can trick investors into thinking there is more activity and liquidity on their platform. Another reason people might engage in wash trading is to prop up the price of a particular asset, according to the report. By buying and selling the asset simultaneously, they can create the illusion of demand and drive up the price. This can be done for personal gain or artificially inflate an asset's price before selling it. "Investors should be wary of exchanges that report false figures. You must do your research and only use exchanges you trust," the report suggested. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/whatapp-business-gives-a-new-lease-of-life-to-solopreneurs-across-india-and-bharat/articleshow/94673370.cms">WhatsApp Business gives a new lease of life to solopreneurs across India and Bharat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-service-sector-activity-falls-to-6-month-low-in-sep-amid-inflation-competition-pmi/articleshow/94675187.cms">India's service sector activity falls to 6-month low in Sep amid inflation, competition: PMI</a>

You Searched For "Bitcoin in India" and got 5 results

“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill

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Bitcoin’s India Travails – Attempting Big Change Through Small Change

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Barry Silbert's Latest Investment Is More Evidence Bitcoin's Biggest Opportunities May Lie Outside The US

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Explained: What is Cryptocurrency in India

BI India Bureau

More than half of Bitcoin volume on crypto exchanges fake: Report

IANS

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