The bitcoin puzzle

India needs a pragmatic approach towards cryptocurrencies

Just a month before the deadline imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to banks to cut off all transactions and services to cryptocurrency exchanges comes into effect, reports of a series of scams involving bitcoin have surfaced from Gujarat. The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating one case where high-ranking policemen were allegedly involved in extorting bitcoin from kidnappers, who had demanded a ransom to be paid in the cryptocurrency. In another case, a fly-by-night operator is believed to have persuaded many individuals to invest in bitcoin, offering them returns of 365 per cent per annum, and to