Bitcoin Exchanges Shut Down in India; Government Raids Home of Top Exchange Operator

Wired reports:

As first reported by The Hindu, India’s largest Bitcoin exchange, BuySellBitCo.in, a site where you could trade the popular digital currency for government monies, shut down on Thursday, two days after the Reserve Bank of India issued a public advisory detailing the risks of using Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Soon, other exchanges, such as INBRTC, followed suit.

“We are suspending buy and sell operations until we can outline a clearer framework with which to work,” reads a notice on the BuySellBitCo.in site. “This is being done to protect the interest of our customer.”

Following the shutdown, another local news outlet, DNA India, reported that the local Enforcement Directorate, or ED, had raided the home of BuySellBitCo.in operator Mahim Gupta in Ahmedabad. According to the story, the site may have violated local banking regulations by transmitting money across borders.

(ht  Joshua Byers)