India now has its own blockchain association with leading Bitcoin companies as its members. The Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India recently had its first meeting in Mumbai last week.
The Indian cryptocurrency industry is not having it easy. As the cryptocurrency’s adoption across the world increases, the Indian community has to struggle to get more people onboard amid poor internet penetration and lack of knowledge about the cryptocurrency among the masses. The situation is further worsened by negative press and the Reserve Bank of India’s recent notification cautioning people about the risks associated with Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
In an economy that is heavily dependent on the service industry, Bitcoin is set to play a huge role in making cross-border payments cost efficient. But, amid the so-called war on black money kick-started by the infamous demonetization move, media outlets are speculating about the use of Bitcoin for money laundering.
READ MORE: The Reserve Bank of India Calls for a Cashless Society, Issues Warning against Bitcoin
The Reserve Bank of India’s notification was possibly influenced by the increased demand for Bitcoin days after demonetization and lots of negative press it garnered. But the country’s Bitcoin platforms aren’t going to take it lying down and hence the blockchain alliance.
Currently, the members of Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India includes Coinsecure, Searchtrade, Unocoin and Zebpay. According to the CEO of Coinsecure, Mohit Kalra, twenty more companies are expected to join the association. In the coming days, the members are going to register the organization and push for cryptocurrency friendly initiatives within the country.
The association will also work on bringing in uniformity among the cryptocurrency startups in the country. Sathvik Vishwanath, the co-founder of Unocoin was quoted by a leading Indian publication saying,
“The goal is to have a uniform self-regulation amongst ourselves.”
The same publication also quotes Zebpay’s Saurabh Agarwal saying,
“While we have been planning to create an association for some time, we finally pushed things after the circular.”
In the coming days, the new Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India will be working with regulators and member companies to make Bitcoin trading safe in the country. The industry body will also ensure strong KYC compliance among the members while creating awareness among the general public about Ponzi schemes and other associated risks.
India has a huge cryptocurrency market, and it is just picking up. A right push from the Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India will go to great lengths in improving cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption across various sectors in the country.
Ref: Economic Times - Tech | Image: NewsBTC
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