A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that functions as a medium of exchange , a currency which does not exist in physical form as in paper form and is not issued by any central authority thus disallowing for any type of government interference or any type of manipulation . Individual coin ownership records are stored in databases, these databases are secured by
cryptography thus makes it impossible to counterfeit or double-spend, they also are used to secure transaction records ,verify the transfer of coin ownership and control the creation of additional coins. Cryptocurrency are decentralised networks based on block chain technology, a technology which allows thousands of connected computers or servers to maintain a single, secured and immutable ledger. The history of cryptocurrency dates back to 1983 when David Chaum planned on creating electronic cash known as e-cash, However in 1995 he was able to carry out his plan through Digi cash, it was a early form of cryptographic electronic payments which required user software in order to withdraw notes from a bank and designate specific encrypted keys before it can be sent to a recipient, making it untraceable by any third party. In 2009 the first decentralised cryptocurrency popularly known as Bitcoin was created by pseudonymous developer known to the world has Satoshi Nakamoto. The value of cryptocurrency went on increasing to the point that as of March 2021, there were over 18.6 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market cap of around 927 billion dollars. Many cryptocurrency was introduced as a competition to Bitcoin such as Litecoin, Etherum and Namecoin, Cardano and EOS, However their aggregate value is around 1.5 trillion dollars in which 60% is that of Bitcoin. Though cryptocurrency has its perks, there are certain major disadvantages to it such as using it as a mode of payment for tax evasion, money laundering and other such illegal activities. However Bitcoin is not a preferable option because forensic analysis of the Bitcoin block chain has helped authorities arrest and prosecute criminals, other privacy-oriented coins are used such as Dash, Monero and Z cash which is far more difficult to trace. Cryptocurrency faces criticism because of their illegal use, exchange rate volatility and vulnerabilities of the infrastructure underlying them, many experts believe that block chain technology will eventually cause disrupt in fields like finance and law. The upside of cryptocurrency is of the transparency, portability, inflation residence and divisibility. The situation in India was pretty unpopular as they were deciding whether to legalise or ban cryptocurrency, Indian government at least decide to take a step to regulate digital currencies. The MCA, Ministry of corporate Affairs has decided to make it mandatory for companies to disclose crypto trading during the financial year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Center was open to experimentation with new technologies and is not closing its minds for them, Upto now, the center has assured crypto stakeholders that there won’t be a blanket ban on digital currencies and they hadn’t formulated a full opinion on that matter. To sum up all that had been stated so far, Cryptocurrency is not illegal in India, you want to buy and start trading cryptocurrency you can, Even though India does not have a regulatory body to govern cryptocurrency as of now. To tackle that issue, the government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee on November 2, 2017, to study and assess the situation of virtual currencies, and it yielded a positive result of distributed- ledger technology and suggested various applications, especially in financial services for its use in India. Recently RBI issued guidelines to banks and Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) saying that “any entity dealing in Cryptocurrency should be done away with”. As cryptocurrency can be used for other illegal activities, However RBI has not yet decided to completely ban cryptocurrency, Given the rising tensions between superpower and uncertainty about dollar fluctuations, Cryptocurrency can provide an alternative source.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- India today
- Business today
- Investopedia