Manasa Vishwanath, School of Law Christ University
ABSTRACT
Cryptocurrency in India is a highly unregulated and volatile market tool of the modern international financial economy. The market has existed for over a decade from the launch of Bitcoin in 2009; however, the regulation and legal control over the same is poorly developed in comparison to the staggering growth of the value of cryptocurrency and its prevalence in the market. It has now developed into a non-traditional financial institution whose purpose and function is not privy to fundamental norms of traditional finance and banking institutions. Every attempt in regulation of these volatile and unpredictable assets seems to be a clear disregard to its very purpose as a financial entity which functions in a decentralized market. This paper seeks to analyze and study the regulation of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, in the Indian economy. It seeks to analyze and interpret the nature of cryptocurrency and the regulation of its trade, sale, generation, holding and transfers. This paper includes a study of the American legal system and its regulatory mechanisms in relation to securities and commodities classifications of cryptocurrency with reference to which regulatory propositions for the Indian legal system are made.
Keywords: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Regulation, India
