What is Bitcoin? Why the Buzz?
The contemporary society in which we are making out our living is very much accustomed to physical currencies like coins and banknotes. But, distinct from our traditional currencies we are used to , there are various digital currencies available over internet today which exhibits similar properties yet allows for instantaneous and borderless relocation of ownership. They are called Cryptocurrency. Among them , Bitcoin is currently holding the top seat by means of market capitalisation, having the greatest blockchain network and being followed by it’s other counterparts like Ethereum , Ripple and Litecoin. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown Japanese programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009 and this mysterious cryptographic activist had been nominated for the Nobel prize in Economics in November 2015. In today’s world of modern internet, Bitcoin stands out as the leading digital decentralised cryptocurrency , which avidly curates peer-to-peer transactions between clients directly without the supervision of any third party administrator like bank or local government.
As internet acts as a medium to connect us socially , Bitcoin possess the ability to connect us financially through out the world.
Bitcoin, the first tangible universal electronic cash system, is gaining huge popularity among people very fast as they are realizing it’s breakthrough potential as an open source software based peer-to-peer digital payment system without a central repository. Each transaction, after being duly verified by network nodes, is recorded in a blockchain, which is a public distributed ledger. As we know that, Bitcoin is an electronic currency and a modern age technology, therefore it is very important to gather a solid understanding of various aspects related to its buying, holding and selling procedure. Every Indian who is aware of this tangible yet most powerful money-market instrument of the latest internet era, has this basic question in mind – “Why should we invest in Bitcoin?” Through this post, we have tried to put my best endeavor to compile 5 concrete reasons to invest in Bitcoins in India.
Reasons to invest in Bitcoin in India:
1. Quick transfer at low transaction fee:
Bitcoin offers instantaneous transfer of ownership at a nominal transaction fee.
Pocketbits, a Bitcoin exchange in India, guarantees to complete all activities like account registration or buying or selling within an average period of 59 minutes. Though Bitcoin transaction fee may differ in various exchange, everywhere the charge is very nominal compared to traditional money transfer rate.
2. Usage of Bitcoin is growing rapidly in India:
Indian merchants are stepping forward to accept Bitcoins because,
- Transaction fee for payment processing is nil.
- Reconciliation time is reduced.
- Getting payment fast to their account.
- Digital payments are getting a boost.
- Its transfer is irreversible.
So, in most developing countries of the 3rd world , people is using Bitcoins for day to day transaction for buying various products or services.
3. Bitcoin’s historical price graph is very much tempting :
Numerous fundamental analyst of the stock market are assuming that Bitcoins current price graph is indicating a price surge is coming ahead. We must not forget that Bitcoin price in early 2013 was 13.5 USD which ended up with an impressive jump of over 1100 USD by the end of December 2013.
4. Indian government is considering to legalise Bitcoins in Indian territory :
On June 20 / 2017 , CNBC India reported that Indian government is making the framework to legalise Bitcoins within the Indian territory. As soon as this news circulated to all corners of society, a massive increase in number of users and treading volume is noted.
5. Compared to gold , Bitcoin is still undervalued :
Bitcoin possess all attributes of gold , such as ,
- It’s scarce .
- It has finite supply , but it’s demand is growing day by day.
- It is highly divisible.
- It is free from the risk of being counterfeited.
- It’s fungible.
But , gold has limited utility as compared to Bitcoin.Therefore , more and more national , as well as foreign institutional investors are taking Bitcoin seriously as a strong financial instrument and using Bitcoin as their portfolio diversifier.
How to buy Bitcoins in India :
Now , before all, let’s get into few necessary steps to be followed to get access into the realm of Bitcoins. Just like mobile wallets, if you want to trade Bitcoins, at first you have to download and install any Bitcoin wallet application on your Android mobile phone/desktop/laptop.Then verify your identity by uploading an image of your PAN card. Now, once registration procedure is successfully completed, you can buy Bitcoins by making payment to the bank account given by the app. The amount will be credited to your digital wallet in terms of Bitcoins.
Bitcoin wallets available in India :
Every Bitcoin has a secret key which is saved in the Bitcoin wallet. It facilitates buying , storing and selling of Bitcoins in the world-wide digital domain. In India, Zebpay, Unicoin, Coinsecure, and Pocketbits have mostly used Bitcoin wallet. International Bitcoin wallets are also available, such as Blockchain, Xapo, Coinbase and much more to transact or store Bitcoins in a nifty way. You may also avail yourself a hardware wallet if you possess more than 1 BTC. Hardware wallets are safe, secure and unhackable. TREZOR (available at 169.92 USD at Amazon ) and LEDGER WALLET (available at 193.95 USD at Amazon ) are two most favored devices across the globe.
Is Bitcoin in India legal today ?
This question is inevitably flooding in mind of every investor of India. Let’s reveal the insight of the legal aspects of Bitcoin trading in today’s India.
In April 2015, India’s leading International law firm – NISHITH DESAI ASSOCIATES published a research paper- “Bitcoins-A global perspective” which eventually claims that Bitcoin transaction is quite legal in India. India’s leading Internet organization CIS published a research post in which they stated that under no existing law, Bitcoin trading can be termed as illegal.
On June 2017, CNBC India reported that Indian Government is in favor of regulating Bitcoins in India and currently making a task force to implement a regulatory framework to fully legalize Bitcoin trading in Indian territory, within the short period of time.
But, Reserve Bank of India has been flagging their concerns over the tangible cryptocurrencies regarding their safety and security. Some RBI press releases are noted below.
- Press release – 2013 – 2014 / 1261 , Date – December 24 ,2013, by Mr. Ajit Prasad , Assistant General Manager of RBI.
- Press release – 2016 – 2017 / 2054 , Date – February 01 ,2017, by Mr. Jose J.Kattoor , Chief General Manager of RBI .
Despite RBI’s warnings, Bitcoin is building inroads in India very fast. Zebpay, one of the leading Indian Bitcoin Exchange proclaimed that it has already reached the milestone of 5 Lakh downloads and still adding over 2500 members a day. It clearly proves that Bitcoin, the internet of money is going to be the pilot to control the financial destiny of the future world.
Today, Bitcoin has already proved itself as a global currency as it achieved immense popularity among people from various walks of modern society. To invest in Bitcoin doesn’t mean that you are investing in a foreign currency because Bitcoin is not owned by any country. In true sense, Bitcoin stands out as first universal currency, with a great strength to provide a robust solution for cross border payment obstacles across the globe.
