Status of Cryptocurrency in India: A Broader Perspective

With COVID-19 severely affecting the world economy resulting in its potential downfall, crypto market seems to have gained huge popularity in the past few months. Technology is exponentially evolving overtime and people like to stay updated with the latest trends. Cryptocurrency has emerged as a type of open-source based digital or virtual currency which is neither administered nor centralized by the State. Traditional currencies are subject to a great deal of regulations governing them and are also prone to counterfeiting. Cryptocurrencies till now remain unregulated and it is nearly impossible to forge them as they operate on the blockchain technology. So a prominent question which arises is why people are still afraid to invest in cryptos or why is it that the Indian government wants to ban them and introduce CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) and what is it about the new Digital Currency Bill and its impacts on the crypto-market. This article throws light on identifying the scope of the term ‘currency’ as defined under the laws and analysing whether or not cryptocurrencies fall under the purview of the same. It also focuses on understanding the need and mechanism of cryptocurrency with its thorough interpretation with regards to Indian Legal perspective.