An Indian who lives in Canada, has sent a legal letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking clarification on its stance against virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. In the letter, Venugopal Badarawada threatens to approach the court if the bank fails to act within a month. He has asked the RBI to come up with a clear policy framework for regulating crypto currencies in India within a reasonable time, by immediately setting up a committee of experts from relevant fields such as information technology, finance law, economics, foreign trade and exchange etc. On RBI press release: In the letter addressed to RBI Governor, Badarawada says that the press release issued by RBI in December creates uncertainty and fear for anyone who wants to have a stake in the virtual currency ecosystem. In the press release, RBI had warned the public against the use of virtual currencies by saying that users are subjected to unintentional breaches of laws against money laundering and financing of terrorism. How is it illegal? Badarawada points out that the RBI has not made any statement whatsoever explaining under which provision of law the usage of a virtual currency is illegal. There is also a serious concern as to what aspects of FEMA apply to buying and selling of virtual currencies. [caption id="attachment_101921" align="aligncenter" width="495"] Image source[/caption] Currency or commodity? Badarawada has asked the RBI about how it plans to treat virtual currency - as a foreign currency, domestic currency, private currency, commodity, software program or as an electronic document? He also has…
