Praveen Kumar, CEO and chairman of the Malaysia-based blockchain technology firm Belfrics, feels that demonetisation has aided the growth of Bitcoin industry in India.
Speaking on the sidelines of the firm’s launch of its Bitcoin exchange operations in Bengaluru, he observed that there has been a sudden spurt of interest in going cashless and digital currency in the country. “Bitcoins can be a boon for the large population of the country which is still unbanked...it can provide them a superior and simple peer to peer digital currency trading platform through desktops and mobile devices. We are aiming to tap this huge untapped market. The element of neutrality that the blockchain can bring to the financial system, without the involvement of an intermediary or a regulatory body, is going to redefine the way in which assets are transacted.”
The company, which has operations in many countries, is aiming at provide a liquid marketplace for buying and selling of bitcoins in Indian rupee. The company will also introduce point of sale (POS) and Bitcoin payment gateways for online and retail merchants in India and customers will be able to transact in bitcoins with these merchants without having to pay any additional charges. Besides, Belfrics is planning to tie up with a few institutions in India to spread awareness about the concept of bitcoins.
The company is also aiming to cash in on its expertise in blokchain and decentralised application development in order to bring in transparency and neutrality in financial sector transactions.
“Bitcoin is still in its nascent stage and globally the current market cap is US $ 15 billion...We are already present in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Kenya, Hong Kong and now in India. We are also planning to launch in other countries as well,” said Kumar.
Released in 2009 by an anonymous individual or group of persons under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoins is a payment system that is not controlled by anyone and can be accessed by the public. It is a global decentralised digital money which is not subject to a central authority and helps users to carry out transactions directly without an intermediary, with minimal fees.
