Following the regulatory discomfort on cryptocurrencies, second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank today blocked its cards from being used to purchase/trade in such instruments. "Government does not consider crypto-currencies legal tender or coins and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system," he had said.However, the bitcoin exchanges had reacted to it saying it is "business as usual" even after the statement and said Jaitely's comments were being misinterpreted. "There is no change in the government stance with respect to trading cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency holders need not panic and the business is as usual," chief executive and co-founder of Unocoin Sathvik Vishwanath had said.Another player Belfrics Global's chairman Praveenkumar Vijayakumar said government was taking time to understand the crypto world and the country' global share on cryptocurrency market was steadily increasing.It can be noted that there has been huge volatility in the price of the bitcoin over the past few months, which surged to a very high level before crashing down. The bitcoins are "mined" using complex algorithms.

Source: Economic Times March 13, 2018 17:03 UTC