Authorities scramble to regulate Bitcoin

NEW DELHI: As Bitcoin becomes more popular day by day, regulators are getting worried about potential money laundering risks associated with this digital currency and its possible misuse by fraudsters to lure gullible investors into ‘e-ponzi’ schemes.

Adding to the challenges posed by Bitcoin before the regulators, this e-currency is already being accepted by some online retailers in countries like the US, China and a few others, for various purposes, including pizza delivery.

Hardly three years into existence, Bitcoin has already become the world’s most expensive currency with a per unit value of over $1,000 or about Rs 63,000, and it is posing all possible questions to regulators in India — whether to regulate it or not, who should do it, what should be the norms, how to regulate etc.