With reference to 'Bitcoins', sometimes seen in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.Bitcoins are tracked by the Central Banks of the countries.
- 2.Anyone with a Bitcoin address can send and receive Bitcoins from anyone else with a Bitcoin address.
- 3.Online payments can be sent without either side knowing the identity of the other.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer virtual currency with no central authority: any holder of an address can pay any other, and the parties can stay anonymous or pseudonymous. No central bank issues, authorises or tracks it, so statements 2 and 3 are correct and 1 is not.
- ✗ 1. The RBI said in December 2013 that the creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, is not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority, and in 2017 that it had licensed no one to deal in them.
- ✓ 2. Payments in Bitcoins take place peer to peer, without an authorised central agency that regulates them.
- ✓ 3. The RBI notes that counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous or pseudonymous systems are not identified, which is why it warned of money-laundering risks.
Remember · Bitcoin: decentralised, peer-to-peer and pseudonymous, with no issuer or regulator. Central banks do not track or authorise it; the RBI cautioned users in 2013 and 2017.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India press release: RBI cautions users of Virtual Currencies against Risks (24 December 2013) ↗ “The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. … Payments by VCs, such as Bitcoins, take place on a peer-to-peer basis without an authorised central agency which regulates such payments. … The absence of information of counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.”
- Reserve Bank of India press release: RBI cautions users of Virtual Currencies (1 February 2017) ↗ “The Reserve Bank of India advises that it has not given any licence / authorisation to any entity / company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·