At the beginning of the 21st century, the idea of having a peer to peer transaction system would have seemed an absurd one. But in 2008, Satoshi Nakomoto came up with Bitcoin and showed us the need to eliminate third party finance institutions (like Banks) from our day to day lives. With time, people begun to understand the need of cryptocurrency and how it can decentralize the whole financial system.
If we closely analyze the price history of Bitcoin’s price on trading charts, it was around $13.50 per bitcoin in 2013 and in just four years, in 2017, its evaluation rose to almost freaking $20,000. Bitcoin, like any other cryptocurrency, is based on Blockchain technology that uses a Public Ledger for all its transactions. A cryptographic hash is then generated to protect the transactional records.
Cryptocurrency is making a dent in the modern financial world. Though, countries like India didn’t welcome cryptocurrency trading with open hands initially. Around 2 years back in 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (which handles all of India’s monetary decisions), put a virtual ban on Crypto trading. This barred banks and financial institutions to participate in any activities related to cryptocurrency. Due to which there was a disruption in this sector. Recently, last year on 3rd March 2020, RBI removed its 2-year-old trade ban and allowed everyone to participate in the crypto revolution.
If you’re a working 9 to 5 professional in India, and you have questions like, “Is cryptocurrency trading legal in India”, “How to invest in cryptocurrency in India” or “What’s the future of Cryptocurrency in India”, then you’re in the right place. Today we will try to resolve your queries regarding growth expectations and future of cryptocurrency in India.
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ISSUES EARLIER DUE TO SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON CRYPTOCURRENCY
In 2018, Bitcoin wasn’t legalized by the Reserve Bank of India. They issued a notice to all the banks to stop exchanging Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency in exchange for fiat currency (or Rupees in India). The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAIMAI) challenged RBI in Supreme Court about the decision and won after two years of legal battle in 2020 in the month of March. There are approximately 1.7 million verified cryptocurrency users in India.
In short, YES, cryptocurrency is now legal in India.
After the Supreme Court’s decision in favour of Indian Crypto Sector, investments have surged gradually. Furthermore, new start-ups are coming into picture creating more jobs for the youth of the country.
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INVESTING IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Okay, we get it, you want to know about investing in Cryptocurrencies in India? The process is fairly simple. To understand about cryptocurrency trading, first, we need to learn about cryptocurrency exchanges.
Crypto exchanges allow you to buy any cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. with your debit card. You need to have a wallet where you can store and keep the records of your transactions. You can either have a software wallet or hardware wallet. There are many types of cryptocurrencies but the main ones are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
Just like any other investment, we should weigh the potential gains and losses before investing in the crypto market.
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RISE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE START-UPS IN INDIA
Many cryptocurrency exchange start-ups in India are coming into the picture. These exchanges have decentralized servers which makes them 100% safe. These exchanges maintain the bridge between peer to peer transactions. Some of the Indian Start-Ups in Crypto sector are as follows: –
- Wandx
- Coindelta
- Unocoin
- Koinex
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FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
The future of cryptocurrency is bright in India. There are plenty of reasons behind that. India has a big userbase who is currently working in IT sector and is educated enough to learn about P2P, Cryptographic Mining & Trading. The Crypto sector allows us to stand toe to toe with the world without caring about price fluctuations of the international market. If you’re patient enough to invest in Bitcoin, there are chances that you get great returns on your investment. If we specifically talk about India, this sector is currently taking its shape and therefore there’s no better time to invest in it than NOW.
And because it is open-source, anyone can own it with an Internet connection and trade it later-on for a better price. With 1 billion population, many financial experts proclaim that India is a gold mine and can set an example for other third world countries.
Bitcoin or any other crypto has the potential to become the mainstream currency of India in the future.
CONCLUSION
India is called the largest democracy in the world. The idea of having a peer to peer model for financial transaction is also democratic by nature. Clearly a made-for-each-other scenario here.
People who argue that Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) has no value in its own, forget that this premise also holds true for any currency in the world. It’s the belief in one currency by general public that give its value.
As Van de Poppe said it, “When people lose their faith in currency, it loses its value.”
The landscape of cryptocurrency is green and far away from losing its lushness. People were speculative in the beginning before jumping onto the bandwagon, but the number of holders and investors are expected to rise in the future. Let’s hope the best for India in terms of investing, buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.
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