The capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning to bring Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) under its existing legal framework.
The popularity of crypto currencies is rising and the number of entities looking at raising funds through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) has also been increasing.
The central bank is of the view that these instruments are securities and so SEBI should be the regulating body.
But the Bitcoins are neither ‘commodities derivatives’ nor ‘securities’ under Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
Initial Coin Offerings
An ICO, like an equity initial public offer (IPO), is an issuance of digital tokens that can be converted into crypto currencies and are mostly used to raise funds by start-up firms dealing in block chain technology and virtual currencies like bitcoins and ethereum.
Unlike an IPO, which is governed by SEBI regulations, there is no regulatory body for ICOs in India.
Crypto Currencies
Crypto Currencies or Virtual Currencies are type of unregulated digital money.
They are mainly peer-to-peer system, and transacted between users directly, without an intermediary.
These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in public distributed ledger called blockchain.
Bitcoin is a worldwide crypto currency and digital payment system called the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central repository or single administrator.