The BJP has accused Maharashtra's ruling coalition, including Congress leader Nana Patole and NCP's Supriya Sule, of engaging in illegal bitcoin activities to fund their election campaigns.

Central to the controversy is the GainBitcoin Ponzi scheme, which defrauded thousands and collected bitcoins worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017, with accusations that funds were diverted for election campaigning.

These allegations were brought forward by Ravindranath Patil, a former IPS officer, who claimed that Sule and Patole misappropriated bitcoins from a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case.

Patil also implicated Pune's former Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and cybercrime investigator Bhagyashree Navatke in the bitcoin scam, alleging they received protection from Sule and Patole.

During a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi presented audio recordings purportedly involving Sule and Patole, which he claimed were evidence of their involvement in the scam.

Patil asserted that he possesses voice recordings from a witness, Gaurav Mehta, indicating that Sule had requested Mehta to cash out bitcoins for election funding.

In response to the allegations, both Sule and Patole denied any wrongdoing, with Patole claiming he has no understanding of Bitcoin and labeling the accusations as lies.

Sule challenged Trivedi to a public debate regarding the allegations, dismissing them as 'conjecture and innuendo'.

The BJP has called for an investigation into alleged transactions involving Rs 235 crore from Dubai, linking them to the broader accusations of corruption.

Despite the Supreme Court's ruling overturning the RBI's ban on cryptocurrencies, regulatory clarity remains uncertain as authorities express caution regarding the risks associated with digital currencies.

An inter-ministerial group is currently drafting a policy framework for cryptocurrencies, aiming to establish a regulatory stance in India.

Sule has filed a criminal complaint with the Election Commission and the Cyber Cell against Trivedi for what she termed as baseless allegations intended to mislead the public.