You Won’t Believe What India’s Supreme Court Said About Bitcoin Trading 🚨💸

by

Once upon a Monday (because Tuesdays never have enough drama), India’s Supreme Court sauntered into the Bitcoin bazaar, sniffed the digital air, and declared, “Aha! This is just Hawala with a shiny, pixelated hat!” The audience (consisting mostly of lawyers with tired ties and reporters armed with notepads) gasped, scribbled, and then checked the Bitcoin price… just in case.

The star of this merry courtroom was Mr. Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, an alleged wizard of illegal Bitcoin trading, caught and stuffed behind bars, where he presumably spends his time imagining blockchains and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Presiding over this tale were Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh. They grumbled that somewhere in a secret lair (probably with air conditioning), the mysterious “Centre” still hasn’t handed down a law for this cryptocurrency craze. Two entire years ago, the Court had sent the Centre a polite yet slightly annoyed request for clarity, possibly written in glitter ink. So far, nothing but crickets.

Justice Surya Kant remarked he couldn’t make heads or tails of this “Bit-thing” himself, but was quite certain that paper rules would make the mess disappear—like magic! Or at least, less confusing.

Enter senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who valiantly waved his sword (figurative, very legal-looking), insisting that Bitcoin wasn’t illegal. He even flashed the memory of a Supreme Court ruling that had already bopped the Reserve Bank of India for trying to shove crypto back in the cupboard.

Rohatgi, never missing an opportunity for a little show-and-tell, announced that one whole Bitcoin was worth a whopping Rs. 82 lakh (and about $97,333 in other lands), which, incidentally, is enough for a lifetime’s supply of chocolate cake—or legal fees.

But just as things were getting sparkly, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati clomped in to say, well, yes, there was more skulduggery at play than just shiny coins. According to her, the case was tangled up with fraud and mischief, not just innocent digital piggybanking.

So, here sits Bhatt—arrested on August 14, 2024—languishing away after the High Court locked up the cookie jar and wouldn’t give him bail.

The saga isn’t new. The Supreme Court once tangled with another character accused of luring fortune-seekers with fairy-tale promises of Bitcoin riches, only to leave them with beans instead of stalks.

Meanwhile, the Centre (still hiding in its paperwork castle), had previously told the Court it still didn’t know how to handle these swirling virtual coins. Apparently, the problem is as slippery as a greased eel in a bathtub.

And so, the Court has commanded the Gujarat government and the Enforcement Directorate to hand in their homework within ten days. The grand next episode? Scheduled for May 19, 2025. Bring popcorn. Or Bitcoin.

Read More

2025-05-05 22:45