We missed this earlier. In a speech earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor R Gandhi said that the potential of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, is being overstated. "We can see that in these types of solutions for Virtual Currency, there is no central bank or monetary authority. They pose potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks," he said. This has been the most comprehensive statement the RBI has given over the years on virtual currencies. The RBI has only cautioned users intermittently and opted not to regulate them. Earlier in December 2013, the RBI issued a warning that it will not regulate any Virtual Currency including Bitcoin in India and warned people who were dealing with the currency in India of the risks involved, saying that they’re exposing them to financial, legal, operational and security-related risk. However, in August 2015, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan also mentioned that the apex bank is closely monitoring crypto currencies but has so far not intervened in them. “I would like to say that our philosophy is if it is small then let it develop, let us see how it works and then take a view. That was our attitude towards crypto currencies,” Rajan added. The deputy governor elaborated on his concerns on virtual currencies: 1. Bitcoins stored in digital methods: Virtual currencies being in digital form, stored in digital and electronic media, are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, compromise of access…
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