In recent times, #CryptoCrimes have occupied a fair share of space in newspaper columns. As per Reddit, Investopedia and Indian Express some of the interesting headlines are as follows:

With the absence of any specified legislation in place #cryptocurrency crimes have increased manifold. The fact that the Reserve Bank of India (#RBI), 2018 Circular With the absence of any specified legislation in place #cryptocurrency crimes have increased manifold. The fact that the Reserve Bank of India (#RBI), 2018 Circular

With the absence of any specified legislation in place #cryptocurrency crimes have increased manifold. The fact that the Reserve Bank of India (#RBI), 2018 Circular

that banned Crypto currency in India has added fuel to the fire. The Supreme Court Judgment in the case of Internet Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank of India WP(C) No. 373 of 2018 dated 04.03.2020 wherein the Supreme Court quashed the 2018 Circular issued by RBI stating that the 2018 Circular is disproportionate and fails the reasonableness test under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India which guarantees to all Indian citizens the Right to carry on any occupation, trade or business, a vacuum has been created in this area. The position is such that cryptocurrencies are not illegal in India but the said Sector seems unmonitored due to lack of specific Laws. Hence, most of these crimes would fall within the purview of Fraud and Cheating.

While at present, holding or trading in Virtual currencies is not a crime per se, they may form a part of modus operandi of a separate offence when used to purchase illicit goods such as weapons, drugs, payment for services like gambling which are criminalized in certain jurisdictions. These currencies may also be collected or circulated with an intention to finance terrorist activities. Hence, cryptos may become “instrumentalities of crime” and manifest themselves in multitude of ways – it may be ancillary to the core offence, for example, breaking into a personal wallet through ‘hacking’ or stealing bitcoins that would be theft.