Cleuz Connect – Release 11
Hello There,
This month the team at Cleuz, thought of taking a closer look at the Cryptocurrency market from the Indian standpoint. Must admit, it is a real frenzy coupled with uncertainty in present and pundits lauding the future, leaving everyone a mock. In a nutshell – Confusion!!
The World Over – There is a liking for the new coin and the concept. So there are exchanges, a number of cryptocurrencies and on top of it ICOs (Initial Coin Offers); people raising digital money!!
10 cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ether that have crossed $1 billion valuation in no time. Other currencies like Bitcoin Cash & Bitcoin Gold have also have crossed USD 1 billion in valuation.
Investors and speculators remain forced to use specialized crypto-exchanges to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, as they cant trade cryptos via a regular brokerage account or bank account. Coinbase, Gemini & Kraken are considered as the three best crypto-exchanges.
Platforms like ZebPay, CoinDelta, CoinSecure, etc., trade in Bitcoins, and you would have to pay rupees in exchange for Bitcoins. The legal status of bitcoin varies widely across the world, and is sometimes undefined or fluid.
The Indian Scenario
Not yet matching the pace with the global counterparts but there are pockets of excitement. Check out what’s happening in the country.
In India, at present Bitcoin is not known to every common man. However, population like techies, investors, high-networth individuals others know about Bitcoins. The top five Bitcoin players in India includes: Zebpay, Unocoin, Coin Secure, Btcxindia & GB miners/Gainbitcoin.com.
With the growth of Bitcoin in the country, exchanges to Bitcoin are also emerging. Here is the list of 11 Exchanges to Buy Bitcoin In India 2018.
The Regulation
There are no regulations yet, but agencies want to regulate it. The mooted question is how and who is going to monitor it. But is it not against the basic tenet of crypto currency, that it needs to be self-regulated?
Indian government plans to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges to keep track of transactions conducted there.
India’s income tax department has sent notices to tens of thousands of people dealing in cryptocurrency, after learning that $3.5 billion worth of transactions have been conducted over a 17-month period. The move comes as India’s finance ministry grapples with regulations for virtual currencies.
The Policy
When in doubt – Don’t do it know. Think that the line institutions and the policy makers are treading now. Hopefully the institutions would come together to develop a common view on this aspect. Till then it looks like there is no particular direction for crypto currencies in India.
Currently, the government does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system.
Additionally, banks are also not supportive of the crypto-exchanges taking place in the country. Hence, top banks of the country have suspended some accounts of major Bitcoin exchanges in India on suspicion of dubious transactions.
On the other hand, Money Trade Coin Group, through its Indian arm MTCX India, has for the first time in the country, took the initiative and launched India’s first multi-cryptocurrency exchange services which follows all KYC and AML guidelines.
Anyhow, It’s Making Money
That is the beauty of any financial sector confusion. Somebody makes money somewhere. Cheers to that. For instance, value of Ripple XRP, a cryptocurrency player is expected to rise after its partnership with the telecom company IDT and international payment service MercuryFX.
Visa and Mastercard made buying crypto much more expensive. Before this update, investors or buyers paid 4% credit card transaction fee. However, now they will have to pay a 5% fee to your credit card merchant as well as the 4% service fee to the exchange.
The Growth and Euphoria
Not everyone is writing down the crypto trend, some estimate jobs would be created. Hope the government is listening.
In the six months to November 2017, the number of cryptocurrency and blockchain jobs posted on the Indeed website rose by 290%. In the same period, job searches with keywords related to cryptocurrency/blockchain also rose by 52%.
And You Would Love to Know
Reliance Jio Infocomm is drawing up plans to create its own cryptocurrency, Jio Coin
Writing off for now.
Take care.
Regards,
Kunnal Sharma
Founder – Cleuz
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