Indian Supreme Court demands Government regulate Bitcoin

The Supreme Court of India called on the nation's government on Tuesday to take steps to regulate the use of crypto-currencies such as bitcoin.

Three Supreme Court justices gave notice to India's central bank, the market regulator, the tax department, and other government bodies, demanding they acknowledge and respond to a petition on the matter.

The petition in question expressed concern that crypto-currencies could be used to conduct transaction across international borders without a record, making it a beneficial tool for the likes of hackers and tax dodgers.

It read, "The lack of any concrete [control] mechanism pending the regulatory framework in said regard has left a lot of vacuum and which has resulted in total unaccountability and unregulated Bitcoin (crypto money) trading and transactions."

According to Indian newspaper the Hindu, Bitcoin exchanges in the country add around 2,500 new users per day, and that just less than 500,000 Indians were in possession of bitcoin.

As a result of its adoption, bitcoin usage could allegedly affect "the market value of other commodities," according to the petition, which demanded an "urgent direction" for the government to intervene, citing recent events in China and Russia as precedent, however India, the world's largest democratic nation, had historically taken a "wait-and-see" type approach to cryptocurrencies.