Bengaluru: The Cyber Crime Police has registered a case against Unocoin which installed India’s first Bitcoin ATM in Bengaluru’s Kempfort Mall and seized it. The company’s co-founder Harish BN has also been arrested in the case.
The ATM was reportedly set up despite the RBI’s crackdown on cryptocurrency in India.
Several gadgets and Rs 1.79 lakh cash have also been seized while arresting Harish. He was produced in the 1st ACMM Court in Bengaluru before being taken into police custody.
The RBI had ruled earlier this year in a notification that financial institutions associated with RBI are not permitted to deal in cryptocurrency. The central bank had also stated that cryptocurrency to be illegal.
Unocoin claimed to comply with RBI rules and stated to accommodate “newer mechanisms and solutions to reduce the hurdle facing (regulatory) hurdles by the present central governments stand.” Users of the erstwhile ATM could make transactions but could not buy or sell them.
The Bitcoin ATM was not yet operational and was also moved from Bengaluru’s Kempfort Mall to another location after several reports criticizing and hailing the installation were put in the media. Unocoin was planning to install more ATMs in Mumbai and Delhi.
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