29 December 2013 | By The Indian Express | indianexpress.com
The RBI steps in to suspend trading, but it should hasten regulation instead
Not long after China banned its banks from trading in Bitcoin, the RBI has issued cautions and some Indian agencies have suspended trading in response. This was apparently done to prevent clients from unknowingly falling foul of laws against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. But the freeze should be a temporary step pending the evolution of a clearer legal framework within which decentralised, anonymous digital currencies can operate. Because to hold off Bitcoin and other completely dematerialised currencies would be a Canute-like gesture, a vain attempt to stop a force of nature like the tide.
