India is one of the biggest markets for cryptocurrency, with the potential to be a market leader, but due to local issues, this market is still at a very early stage. In India, there are currently 6 major platforms where you can buy and sell Bitcoin in Indian Rupee.
Bitbns
Cashaa
CoinDCX
LocalBitcoins
Paxful
WazirX
1.Bitbns: Homegrown startup based in Bangalore owned by Buyhatke Internet Private Limited incorporated in 2015. Bitbns is one of the biggest P2P markets in the country for users to buy and sell crypto. Bitbnb also has a platform called Bitdroplet, which allows an investor to invest in cryptocurrencies through a Systematic Purchase Plan (SPP). At the moment users can only deposit USDT for the SIP.
Website: Bitbns.com
2. Cashaa: Cashaa is the biggest crypto-friendly banking service provider based in London, UK started in 2016. Thousands of crypto companies and many of our favorite coins and exchanges are using Cashaa banking solutions. Cashaa was a B2B company that recently started its products for personal use. Cashaa wallet service is available in Indian Rupee (₹) to manage fiat and crypto through one single account. In the second half of 2020, Cashaa is enabling international bank accounts with Mastercard for personal use.
Website: Cashaa.com/bitcoin-india
3. CoinDCX: CoinDCX claims to be Mumbai based peer to peer platform in India as per website footer, but fine prints in terms and conditions make it clear that it’s a Singapore based company. CoinDCX has a product called CoinInsta where users can buy Bitcoin using an INR deposit.
Website: coindcx.com
4. LocalBitcoins.com: LocalBitcoins is a peer to peer Bitcoin marketplace based in Helsinki, Finland. Its service facilitates over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoins. LocalBitcoins is one of the oldest platforms in the Bitcoin industry started in 2012. LocalBitcoins is undoubtedly the most successful p2p marketplace when it comes to buying Bitcoin in Indian Rupee with better liquidity than any other peer to peer platform in India.
Website: localbitcoins.com
5. Paxful: Paxful is a peer to peer Bitcoin marketplace based in Delaware, USA. Paxful and LocalBitcoins are global competitors of each other. Paxful has the sleekest, user-friendly platform when it comes to a peer to peer marketplace. The company recently started its operations in India and is catching up fast.
Website: paxful.com
6. WazirX: WazirX started as a homegrown company but later was acquired by Binance, based in Malta. WazirX made it into this list because they still allow users to buy USDT (via P2P) which can later be converted into Bitcoin. WazirX launched WRX tokens, which can be used on the platform to pay the exchange fees.
Website: wazirx.com
Ranking:
Liquidity: Cashaa is the only platform where users can buy 1 Bitcoin completely without worrying about the price change.
Lowest price: Cashaa’s net Bitcoin price (after covering all the fees) of 1 BTC is lower by ~₹5000 (70 USD) from its nearest competitor, Binance-owned WazirX. Although this comparison does not correctly show the price difference, users cannot buy more Bitcoin than available in the listed price on Wazirx or any other p2p platform, which means users have to buy a higher-priced bitcoin deal which will increase the net price. The below image explains it; the first trade is only available for ₹1900 INR, once that purchase is done, the user has to then contact the second trader to buy upto 2.5 Lakh from them. This keeps going until the user has accumulated the intended 1 BTC from multiple deals.
Ease of use: The user does not have to wait for traders to make a market. Simple one-click purchase. No peer to peer risk or issues. Easily pay and get a model.
Security: Indian rupees deposited at Cashaa is guaranteed by Cashaa despite of 3rd party funding. Bitcoin after purchase can be received directly to any exchange or at Cashaa wallet, where the private key is owned by the user.
