Just A Week After Getting Installed, India's First Bitcoin ATM In Bengaluru Seized; Co-Founder Arrested
A 37-year-old man was arrested here on Tuesday for running India&rsquos first bitcoin ATM kiosk. Police called illegal as it had been set up without approvals. Harish BV from Tumakuru and co-founder of Unocoin Technologies Rajajinagar operated the kiosk at Kemp Fort Mall.
A 37-year-old man was arrested here on Tuesday for running India¡¯s first bitcoin ATM kiosk, which police called illegal as it had been set up without approvals.
Harish BV, from Tumakuru and co-founder of Unocoin Technologies, Rajajinagar, operated the kiosk at Kemp Fort Mall on Old Airport Road.
The kiosk facilitated cryptocurrency deals. Central Crime Branch sleuths seized a teller machine, two laptops, a mobile, three credit cards, five debit cards, a passport, five seals of Unocoin company, a cryptocurrency device and Rs 1.8 lakh.
Harish was produced before the I ACMM court, which sent him to police custody for seven days. Police said more arrests are likely.
According to police, the kiosk was a platform for bitcoin buyers and sellers. ¡°The accused claims he¡¯s running the kiosk for six months. We think he¡¯s misleading us,¡± a CCB source said. Police requested public not to be lured by the prospect of making huge profits and invest money in cryptocurrencies.
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Unocoin co-founder Sathvik Viswanath defended his company¡¯s business model, saying it¡¯s perfectly legal for Indians to buy, own or sell bitcoins.
¡°We got a lot of bad press after the finance minister announced a ban in February 2018. The minister¡¯s statement was clear: Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in India. He did not say ¡®illegal tender¡¯. There¡¯s a huge difference. It means you bear the risk of your investment and there¡¯s no regulation for the industry,¡± he said.