The largest bitcoin exchange of India, BuySellBitCo.in has shut up shop after the Reserve Bank of India issued a statement about the risks of using virtual currencies.
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The Reserve Bank of India said that Bitcoin and its imitators have no regulatory approval and that people using it as a currency should know that it is unregulated, volatile and susceptible to security risks.
BuySellBitCo.in posted a short message on its site, stating that: "we are suspending buy and sell operations until we can outline a clearer framework with which to work". Another rival platform, INBRTC, has suspended transactions until further notice.
Regulators in Taiwan and Lebanon both have issued their own warnings about virtual currencies, fingering Bitcoin’s volatility and its potential use for money laundering.
The Reserve Bank of India’s statement is the last in a series of damning statements from central banks.
In December the People’s Bank of China banned financial institutions from proving Bitcoin-relate services and products.
European regulators have also expressed doubts in the last few months, including the Dutch Central Bank.
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