New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS): The Income Tax (IT) department on Wednesday conducted "surveys" at nine Bitcoin exchanges around the country to gather information about the investors and traders of the crypto-currency.

"The department has carried out surveys at nine Bitcoin exchanges located in various cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad and Gurugram," a senior IT Department official told IANS here.

"These surveys were conducted to ascertain the identities of the users of Bitcoins and to gather information pertaining to banking details and other financial means through which the crypto-currency was traded and invested in by the users."

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India had cautioned the "users, holders and traders" of Bitcoins about the security related risks associated in dealing with such virtual currencies (VCs).

The apex bank reiterated its stand that "it has not given any licence or authorisation to any entity or company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any VC".

"In the wake of significant spurt in the valuation of many VCs and rapid growth in Initial Coin Offerings, RBI reiterates the concerns," it had said in a statement.