Over the last 48 hours a relatively modest rise in the price of Bitcoin has been attributed largely to activity on Chinese Bitcoin exchanges. And yet uncertainty still shrouds the Chinese market: will there be a repeat of the 2013 “crackdown” when the People’s Bank of China (central bank) banned payment processors from working with Bitcoin companies? Is trading volume being faked on some Chinese exchanges?
It may be true that the Chinese market has helped to drive the success of Bitcoin and blockchain tech, but the “smart money” is currently looking towards India for the next wave of cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
One of the goals of cryptocurrency is to provide an alternative payment network to the banking system; a high percentage of India’s population – 41% according to Royal Bank of India statistics – has no access to banking facilities. With the second-largest population and the highest remittance rate in the world (the country receives an estimated $70 billion annually), as well as a burgeoning IT sector, it may be that India presents the perfect environment for growth and development in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector.
Today it seems that VCs and investors are willing to test the hypothesis that a unique and vibrant digital currency economy is growing in India. A series of funding rounds have taken place or are currently underway to support India-based startups, as reported by websites such as www.siliconangle.com, www.coinreport.com and www.bitcoinist.net.
Zebpay:
Zebpay, a mobile Bitcoin-wallet provider which recently secured a $1 million seed investment, is now in talks to acquire $4 to $5 million in a series-A round. With an existing 130,000 clients, the company says that its userbase is growing by 20,000 users per month. Zebpay provides the unique feature of linking its wallets to mobile phone numbers, in a bid to make their services easier to use and to add security. The company is working on integrating Bitcoin into payment processing for Amazon, Flipkart and Make My Trip customers.
Unocoin:
Unocoin is a Bitcoin wallet and exchange based in Bangalore and Tumkur, with 100,000 users and 30 employees. A funding round led by Blume Ventures and including Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, Bank to the Future and FundersClub, netted the company $1.5 million. Unocoin CEO Sathvik Vishwanath said:“We’re honoured to have this type of support from top investors. We started from my small hometown called Tumkur near Bangalore and our goal from the beginning was to make it easy to get Bitcoin in India. A few years later, we are now headquartered in Bangalore with 30+ employees, serving more than 100,000+ customers across the country and growing exponentially. Given our steep growth rate, we’re looking to serve millions more in the coming years.”
Coinsecure:
Delhi-based exchange and wallet-provider Coinsecure (Secure Bitcoin Traders Private Ltd.) raised $1.2 million in April. According to The Economic Times the company is now aiming to secure $3.5 – 3.8 million from investors within the next few months. From the Coinsecure website:“Secure Bitcoin Traders Pvt. Ltd. was established in June 2014, with Coinsecure focusing on charting out the next-generation offerings for the Bitcoin ecosystem in India. The single motto of ‘Connecting India to Bitcoin’, has helped us derive solutions for Bitcoiners in India. Over the past year, we have been working on some explosive builds, to enable the common masses on-board this journey of Bitcoin.”
Laxmi Coin:
While interest does appear to be growing in the Indian cryptocurrency scene it is probably a little early to say that thanks to this activity and, “… with continued help from China, Bitcoin may truly be on its way to becoming a global currency” (Nick Marinoff, Bitcoinist.net). It is important to remain aware of the possibility of future regulation.
In 2014 the launch of India-focused cryptocurrency Laxmicoin was suspended by its founders, as they awaited clarity on regulation. During a speech made on 25 August 2015, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri R Gandhi, said:“Digital currencies and crowdfunding have the potential to support criminal, anti-social activities like money laundering, terrorist funding and tax evasion. While we do not have any reported instances of crowdfunding in this respect, cryptocurrencies have been widely suspected to finance criminal activities. We have to be carefully and critically watching these developments.”
But at least for the time being, as regulators sit on the sidelines and watch, adventurous investors are making the first tentative forays into the Indian cryptocurrency startup scene.
Source: https://www.reddheads.com/en/cryptocurrency-startups-gaining-traction-india/
