With Bitcoin making waves all over the world in the past few months, the government was expected to provide clarity on cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said in his Budget speech that the currency is illegal and the government was not going to to recognise it.The rising craze for bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that has rocketed to shocking highs, has already come under the government's lens. Bitcoin can be an easy way to evade tax or snare unsuspecting small investors in ponzi schemes. The government has already begun a crackdown on illegal uses of this unregulated virtual currency.However, Jaitley has announced that the government would adopt blockchain, the technology that supports cryptocurrencies.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is already looking at the brave new world of cryptocurrency. The SBI's initiative, christened Bankchain, is in partnership with IBM, Microsoft, Skylark, KPMG and 10 commercial banks.

Source: Economic Times February 01, 2018 06:45 UTC