India's Finance Minister says that bitcoin is not a legal tender

India’s leading financial official made a public statement refuting bitcoin as a currency and legal tender in the country.

While speaking at the Indian Parliament, Finance Minister Mr. Jaitley made it clear where he stands on the topic of cryptocurrencies and especially, bitcoin. A similar stance has been portrayed by the Indian Central Bank over the years.

Finance Minister earlier confirmed the government’s open-ended plan to control India’s cryptocurrency industry.

Jaitley has stated that eleven cryptocurrency exchanges had particularly been identified by the government. Earlier, India’s Income Tax (IT) department plunged in on at least nine bitcoin exchanges to investigate alleged tax evasion prior to announcing its intention to impose capital gains taxes on users.

Despite many attempts – including one mandated by the Supreme Court to organize a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Jaitley emphasized the government will not engage in “knee-jerk reactions” to enforce regulations for exchanges.

Rather, the government is expecting on a report from the interdisciplinary committee tasked with examination and recommend a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Jaitley continued.

A few days ago, public notice was issued by the Ministry of Finance that warned citizens against investing into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, comparing them to Ponzi schemes.