The exchange of Fiat in crypto-currencies is in India since 3. July is prohibited. Due to the still high demand for the crypto-exchange Unocoin crypto-ATM. The supposed victory over the regulatory barriers lasted however only briefly. Now the Indian police is taken against it – the Bitcoin ATM has been seized.
How BTC-ECHO only on 15. October reported, has started the Indian crypto exchange, Unocoin, a Bitcoin ATM set up. The first of its kind, the Indian rupee (INR) exchange currencies against 30 Crypto, was on 14. October in Bangalore inaugurated. Unocoin had already planned the installation of additional vending machines in Mumbai and Delhi. Interestingly, this introduction of crypto ATMs is mainly due to the fact that the exchange of Fiat currencies for Crypto, and Vice-versa in India since the beginning of July actually is prohibited. This prohibition was the local police now.
A short pleasure
On the 24. October, the Times of India reported that the Indian police in the city of Bangalore has already seized shortly after its formation, an ATM, the local crypto-stock exchange Unocoin. According to the report, the co-founder and CTO of Unocoin, Harish BV was also on the 23. October arrested. In addition, the criminal police of the local police seized in addition to the ATM, two Laptops, a cell phone, three credit cards, five debit cards, a passport and Indian rupees is worth about US $ 2,500. The Commissioner of the city police of Bangalore, Alok Kumar, explains these steps in a report in the Bangalore Mirror of 24. October:
„they [Unocoin] had no license from the RBI [Reserve Bank of India, India’s Central Bank] of the Sebi [securities and exchange regulatory authority of India] or any other authority, the Bitcoin transaction. They introduced them without a trade licence from the BBMP [government of Bangalore].“
In fact, Unocoin is one of the crypto exchanges in India, which have survived the banking ban, the beginning of the year of the RBI was adopted. Nevertheless, the prohibition of the Fiat-crypto trading already existed before the establishment of the vending machine.
The small but fine difference
However, the co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, Sathvik Viswanath, rejected this accusation and the Times of India:
declared in „The Declaration of the [Finance]Minister, it was clear that Crypto is not a legal tender currency in India. He said ‚illegal Tender‘. There is a big difference. It means that you bear the risk of your investment and there is no regulation for the industry.“
How Unocoin on this difference for advice and possible action against the confiscation intends to launch, is not yet known.