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Whatever you might say about Bitcoin, the virtual currency certainly is getting a lot of attention from governments across the world.

Last week, a federal judge from the state of Texas ruled that Bitcoin is a legitimate currency. Today, the Reserve Bank of India, India’s central banking institution, has said in a statement that it is “watching” the virtual currency as it gains momentum.

Meanwhile, the virtual currency is set to undergo more scrutiny in the U.S. as Congress is looking to get involved with a more detailed investigation regarding the way the virtual currency would affect the economy. The US Homeland Security Committee has also requested the Obama administration for more information on current “policies, procedures, guidance or advisories” relating to virtual currencies and about “plans or strategies regarding virtual currencies.”

Back in India, while the Indian regulatory body is currently not enforcing any guidelines about the use of Bitcoin yet, it has said previously that the current might “pose challenges in the form of regulatory, legal and operational risks.” An RBI spokeswoman said in an e-mail statement today: “as of now we are watching and learning about the developments in Bitcoins but are not regulating it.”

Benson Samuel, a Bitcoin enthusiast from the city of Bangalore who runs the site coinplace.tk, reacted to RBI’s statement saying, “Bitcoin is emerging in India and it would benefit the users if RBI could regulate it or take ownership of it.”

Source: Economic Times