To deliberate upon the framework of virtual/cryptocurrencies, the finance ministry has convened a meeting of all key officials next week.

The meeting was earlier scheduled for Monday but was later postponed, according to people close to the development.

The issue of whether virtual currencies or bitcoins should be banned, regulated or self-regulated is being deliberated for sometime. The meeting will be attended by Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urijit Patel, Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman Ajay Tyagi and other key officials.

Last month the government had sought comments from the public on platform MyGov for deciding the viability or other wise of virtual currencies. "In case VCs are not suggested to be regulated: What should be the effective self-regulatory mechanism? (and) what measures should be adopted to ensure consumer protection in this scenario?" the government had asked the public.

It had earlier said the use of virtual currencies like bitcoins is not authorised by the RBI and could result in breach of anti-money laundering provisions.

In April this year, the finance ministry had constituted a committee on this issue. The committee will suggest measures to deal with virtual currencies including issues relating to consumer protection and money laundering, the finance ministry had said in a statement. It has to submit its report within three months.

It will also assess existing framework of virtual currencies in India and globally as well as examine the existing global regulatory and legal structures governing virtual currencies.

Besides, measures to deal with such virtual currencies and issues related to consumer protection and money laundering will also be addressed by the committee.

Recently, bitcoins were in news as the global ransomware attack WannaCry infected computers running on older versions of Microsoft operating systems and demanded a ransom of $ 300 in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin for unlocking the devices.

Globally, only Japan has recognised bitcoins, which is banned in many countries, including Russia, because of issues of money laundering or financing terrorism.