BTCXIndia — India’s premier Bitcoin exchange
Bitcoins in India
In today’s post we take a look at a great Bitcoin exchange in one of the fastest developing economies in the world. It is a melting pot of color, flavor, beauty and culture and a proud nation who will contribute greatly to the development of the world. We are talking about India of course, a country in a great period of development and transformation, and whose unique economics and mature stance on Bitcoin present a great opportunity for the global Bitcoin market to grow.
Adoption
Initial adoption has been slow, and the official stance of the government can be described as “cautions”, but at the same time, India is looking to embrace new technology if the Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan’s comments are anything to go by. The extent to which cryptocurrency will contribute to India’s development is yet to be seen as the government mulls the legal framework over, but for now Bitcoin and India present mutual opportunities for growth.
Challenges
However, this does not come without challenges. It is clear that using bitcoins and trading bitcoins is not illegal in India, but it is still unclear who regulates it and what requirements the will have on exchanges. The meticulous approach of cautious flirting from the government raises the prospect that Bitcoin will have a large impact on India and vice versa. A really good paper on the government’s perspective on Bitcoin can be found here.
Growth
Bitcoin’s growth in India is driven by the tech start-ups of Bangalore and Hyderabad keen to develop the opportunity the 1+billion plus a huge remittance market bring. Obviously, this comes with many challenges, but overall, the future is bright for Bitcoin in India (for now at least).
We were keen to get some insight from within the industry, so we got in touch with BTCXIndia’s CEO Kappesh Mupparaju. Founded in 2013, Hyderabad based BTCXIndia have been working to make trading Indian Rupees for Bitcoin available to Indian nationals.
-Hello, introduce yourself. What services do you provide? What would you say is your advantage over other exchanges?
Hi, I’m Kamesh, CEO of BTCXIndia. We are the only bitcoin exchange in India that allows for real time order placement in an an open order book in a user-friendly and accessible manner, with outstanding customer support, and almost instant INR transfers.
What’s the bitcoin adoption in India currently like? What possibilities and opportunities can Bitcoin bring to the Indian market?
The indian market has been slower to embrace bitcoin that Europe, America, and China. This is especially interesting as India, as a developing country, probably has some of the most gains to be made from using bitcoin. Obvious areas are banking the under-banked, international and domestic remittances, as well as the lowering costs seen in the traditional financial system. We see a lot of excitement about bitcoin, and have our money bet on that 2015 will be a big year for Bitcoin and crypto currency in India.
-What are the main threats to Bitcoin in your market?
The main challenge in India is the same as in most other markets — regulation. India’s central bank has declared bitcoin legal, but it’s still unclear which government body that regulates what and how current laws are to be applied to this new technology. We are working together with the Indian bitcoin community to influence authorities to ensure appropriate regulation will be in place, and that this will be implemented on such a level that it manages the risks of a decentralized currency, but also allows for India to draw the benefits of bitcoin’s potential and unique features.
-What is your approach to security (ie customer data, funds, proof of balances etc)
Security and integrity is some of our top focus areas. We are using offline wallets for the absolute majority of funds, and we have also invested a lot of effort to ensure our site is secure. We believe we are comparable to what you would find in traditional financial services when it comes to security.
-What is the plan for your exchange for the future?
We will continue to grow by promoting bitcoin in India. We are launching exciting new products on the exchange soon to cater for more sophisticated traders, something customers have requested since we launched. Keep an eye on the site for more info on this.
-What is your outlook on the future of Bitcoin itself? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee?
I think Bitcoin has a great future not least in developing markets like India. The main challenge will be to adapt current legislation to make it workable for crypto currency; a process that will take time to get right. During this time it is important that we work to build use cases and real world examples of how bitcoin can simply peoples life and lower costs, and spread awareness of how much good Bitcoin can do for India and the Indian people.
We would like to thank Kamesh Mupparaju and BTCXIndia for taking the time to speak to us.
To wrap up it can be said once again that India’s ongoing economical, political and technological transformation presents a great opportunity for Bitcoin as a global system. With that said, there are also some huge challenges ahead which stretch beyond the scope of technological / economical advance. The ongoing development of infrastructure and political reform may be the necessary catalyst required, but the extent to which Bitcoin will impact India’s development and vice versa is yet to be seen. For now we should just recognize the opportunities present and rest assured that companies like BTCXIndia will keep pushing the envelope to help advance bitcoin as an payment system and India as a global tech leader.
We want to note that this post IS NOT a paid endorsement, but a independent reflection of the service from a 3rd person’s perspective.
For more information, visit BTCXIndia
Also, follow them on Twitter: @btcxindia and Facebook: BTCXIndia
Alternatively,contact them by e-mail: support@btcxindia.com
Feel free to check out our bitcoin convertor as well!
