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India Cautions Users On Risks Associated With Virtual Currencies

hypnosec writes "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned users of virtual currencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin on the risks associated with them and said that it is looking at the use and trading of these currencies. They noted that there are quite a few risks including: theft of digital wallets that are used to store the digital currency, absence of any frameworks to tackle customer problems, disputes and charge backs; exposure to potential losses because of high volatility in value of the virtual currencies, legal and financial risks, and breach of anti-money laundering laws because of lack of complete information on counterparts in a peer-to-peer anonymous / pseudonymous systems."

10 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Dogecoin by Scoth · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I love that Dogecoin is apparently a big enough thing now to be mentioned in the same breath as Bitcoin and Litecoin.

  2. Meh banksters by silviuc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Don't use those nasty digital currencies because we have no control over them and make no money on your transactions.

    Also because: terrorism, child porn. criminals, insert_scare_word here...

    1. Re:Meh banksters by Sarten-X · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Bitcoin is regulated. There are laws in place for all valuable assets, regardless of whether they're tangible or not. Of course, many folks who "invest" in Bitcoin don't actually understand those laws or even realize that they should try to. They often don't realize that large transfers (regardless of currency) require documentation, they don't know that capital gains often must be reported for taxes, and they often don't bother keeping the documentation that they'll need when the various government authorities start asking questions. The even-more-naive don't even realize that theft or abuse is just as possible with Bitcoin as with cash.

      The point of this statement is to remind people that digital currencies are still currencies. You don't get to escape the rules and risks of reality by using quatloos instead of dollars.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    2. Re:Meh banksters by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Don't use those nasty digital currencies because we have no control over them and make no money on your transactions.

      Just like cash, then.

      Which has been around forever.

      --
      No sig today...
  3. Perhaps the reason is that: by arisvega · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There spawned a couple of new exchange sites in India over the past few weeks. A few that I checked look legit, demanding some sort of official government documents for user identification, making it non-trivial for scammers to jump aboard the train. It is only natural that there is a warning, and those sites already had more or less the same warning on their frontpages. The fact that this warning is on a state level is a good think for bitcoin (and for potential traders) I think.

    --
    The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
  4. cash... by lkcl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I note that there are quite a few risks associated with CASH including:

    * theft of physical wallets that are used to store CASH
    * absence of realistic application of frameworks to tackle customer problems, disputes and charge backs with CASH.
    * exposure to potential losses because of high volatility in value of the CASH currencies
    * legal and financial risks assocated with trusting strangers with your CASH,
    * and breach of anti-money laundering laws where people can carry CASH because of lack of complete information on tracking of CASH between anonymous random strangers.

    so. wonderful. india's announcing something random about bitcoin. great! let's watch the value go up again just like it did in china as it comes to more peoples' attention. yay!

  5. In a parallel universe... by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Mining for bitcoins actually donated processing time to Folding at home and SETI... so instead of getting virtual currency for wasting compute cycles, we'd probably cure cancer and contact aliens instead.

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  6. Re:In other news, the Dutch warn about tulip mania by wbr1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Dollars, pounds, euros et al have no intrinsic value. And are also volatile (even if not as much as crap to currencies currently are).

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  7. Re:In other news, the Dutch warn about tulip mania by Connie_Lingus · · Score: 5, Informative

    yes, they do...i'm getting tired of this incorrect meme.

    the dollar is backed by "the full faith and credit of the united states government"...yes that means the ability to seize bank accounts and the use of the threat of prison and even guns/bodily harm to get their money to pay its debts.

    it's ludicrous to think bicoin has the same feature.

    --
    never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
  8. Re:In other news, the Dutch warn about tulip mania by lgw · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, that's simply not what a currency is. Never think of a currency as a store of value, but as an aid that makes barter easier. It's a way to measure value, sure, but that's different.

    If you want something with intrinsic value, you need to turn your currency into wealth, by which I mean ownership of the means of production. Land, stocks, private businesses, whatever: the only assets with intrinsic value are those which produce something that people want or need. Everything else is mere convention or convenience.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.