Cryptocurrencies are some of the hottest growing things in the cyber space. And it appears as if India is getting ready to play catch. In response to a questionnaire published by the Indian government, the public has come out in support of virtual currencies. The public has sent in thousands of comments in favor of making bitcoin and its peers mainstream.
The poll kicked off on the 21st of May, and is to last for 10 days. And if the government does take all these comments into account, we might see these currencies implemented before long.
Cryptocurrency is a form of future currency..and like other developed countries India should also welcome this positively. Exchange of bitcoins must be regulated and now bitcoin exchanges in India and the companies involving Bitcoin exchange are properly based on KYC norms. So India should also view Bitcoin positively and it should be legal in India.
And this is just one. Other comments are also quite similar and state pretty much the same. For instance, Anand Harihar says:
I would argue that virtual currencies must be regulated. India has created its own IndiaStack and an appropriate mechanism to transfer Indian Rupees to virtual currencies must be created similar to stock exchanges/forex clearing agencies. The entire ecosystem must be regulated to ensure that money trail is available and also sovereign nature of India is not lost in the virtual connected world.
And other countries like Japan have already adopted bitcoin as their own. Australia will start doing the same from July. The country will also make any transactions using these currencies exempt from all sorts of taxes. Similarly, Russia will adopt the currency as legal tender come 2018.
And of course, virtual currencies have been on a roll since the past month or so. The total value of these have jump up from $32 billion to $85 billion. While Bitcon has surged up to an all time high of $2,400, Ripple (another popular virtual currency) has jumped up by 1000 percent.
Other organizations are also in touch with the government The Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India is keeping in touch with the Indian government to sort out the same. As per some estimates, there are around 8 to 10 lakh cryptocurrencies users in the country. The total volume of these transactions is over 500 crores. And if these figures are accurate, it shows that the country has a huge potential.
As per Zebpay co-founder Sandeep Goenka:
Virtual currencies have the potential to leapfrog India’s financial infrastructure like we leapfrogged landlines with mobile phones.
What’s more, creating a proper network will ensure that under the table trading does not take place. A regulatory system will ensure that these issues are curbed and the government can keep a watch on what’s happening.
The government’s stance looks hopeful. A committee has already been appointed and is taking stock of everything surrounding these cryptocurrencies. Assuming that its recommendations are positive, well, we might find ourselves paying for stuff in bitcoin before long.
