On 6th April 2018, an RBI circular prohibited all
entities regulated by the RBI from dealing in Virtual Currencies
("VCs") or providing services for
facilitating any person or entity in dealing with or settling VCs.
Such services include maintaining accounts, registering, trading,
settling, clearing, giving loans against virtual tokens, accepting
them as collateral, opening accounts of exchanges dealing with them
and transfer / receipt of money in accounts relating to purchase/
sale of VCs. Regulated entities already providing services were
directed to exit the relationship within three months from the date
of this circular1.
The said circular was assailed by way of two writ petitions. The
first writ petition (Rajdeep Singh & Ors v. Union of India) was
filed on 17 April 2018 by a few cryptocurrency exchanges, their
founders, shareholders and several individual traders of
cryptocurrencies in India. Senior Advocate Nakul Advocate helmed
the arguments in the Petition,
