Cryptocurrency, an digital or virtual currency which is secured by Cryptography which is based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on Blockchain Technology. Cryptocurrency startups continue to expand and launch its products in India amid reports of a government bill floated by the finance ministry for inter-ministerial consultations that could ban the virtual currency.
Ever since the Supreme court lifted the ban on Cryptocurrencies in March 2020 there was a new lease of life to the overall cryptocurrency environment in India. The crypto community in India was Delighted as there was a subsequent increase in the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in India. The covid-19 lockdown has given a fresh lease of Life to the Cryptocurrencies in India. However, Decision is yet to be taken on a bill to ban cryptocurrencies in the long run with the draft `Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill ,2019’ is still under consideration according to an RTI Reply received by Mohammed Danish, co-founder of Crypto kanoon.
Despite a large increase in Cryptocurrency there is still a lot of uncertainity prevailing around the overall cryptocurrency environment. Several experts have given their view towards the future of Cryptocurrencies in India. Market observers feel that the surge in Cryptocurrencies can be explained by the fact that Investors are moving away from Investments in Stocks and preferring safer Investments like the Bitcoin. The lockdown has enabled people to learn and explore more about cryptocurrencies online.
Cryptocurrency Exchange Players in India feel that the covid-19 lockdown has boosted the adoption of cryptocurrencies in India. Existing traders have increased their digital asset holdings, and the majority of investments have gone into Bitcoin, Ethereum and ripple. The cryptocurrency markets have been relatively stable for the last couple of months. With Political and Economic unrest affecting the US Markets, the alternative investments increased considerably soaring gold and cryptocurrencies to fresh highs recently.
A few experts also feel that though there is uncertainity regarding cryptocurrencies in India, the associated technologies such as Blockchain are expected to become more popular in the country. Sudin Baraokar, Global and IT Innovation advisor says, “India is a huge opportunity for the real money ecosystem and requires financial inclusion programs backed by modern digital and payment platforms that will massively benefit more than one billion Indians”.
