Love it or hate it, but even a conservative bank like the RBI can't ignore Bitcoin anymore.

According to a report in The Economic Times today, there are about 50,000 Bitcoin enthusiasts in the country and 30,000 of them have downloaded digital wallets to store the currency.

CoinMonk, which is creating awareness about the currency in India, is organising India's first Bitcoin conference in Bangalore on December 14 and 15, said the report. This is the second global conference on Bitcoin in Asia.

For beginners, Bitcoin is a virtual currency that came into existence in 2009. It is unregulated. They are mined virtually. According to reports, there are about 11 million coins now. Mt Gox is the key exchange that deals in Bitcoins.

Media reports say Bitcoin started gaining momentum "after the banking crisis in Cyprus pushed depositors there to find creative ways to move money". There were days when you could not buy anything with this currency. But now it is just the opposite, well almost. .