India: Bitcoin's Dark Knight?
Whether you live in India or not , one cannot deny the importance of the world's largest democracy on the future of Bitcoin.
India possesses one of the largest mobile subscriber pool in the world and an unbanked population that stretches into the millions. This combination of potential cryptocurrency users positions India as a unique market which will play a key role in the fortunes of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Recent Enablers
As the ecosystem continues to evolve, there has been some noise coming from enthusiasts, technologists and even the government.
Nov 2016: The central government's decision to withdraw Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes (in what was termed "Demonetization")from circulation might have played a key role in kickstarting the Bitcoin price surge that is not 6+ months old. As the 2 largest denominations disappeared from circulations, the public found itself hard pressed to carry out many transactions. This along with general frustration played a role in more people becoming aware of Bitcoin and its advantages as a transactional token - clearly evident from the surge in Bitcoin prices (25-30% premium in India).
Feb 2017 Blockchain and Virtual currency Association of India created to push cryptocurrency and regulation in the country
April 2017 The Central Government formed a committee to look into bitcoin and potential for regulation. Over the last couple of months, the committee has engage with various stakeholders and a decision should be presented in the coming months
May 2017: Not to be left behind Asian counterparts - Japan and Korea, India accounted for an impressive 10% of global Bitcoin trade volume
Jun 2017* Zebpay, one of the leading Bitcoin exchanges and a member of the Blockchain and Virtual currency Association of India **declared that in its opinion that the Government will declare Bitcoin to be legal" and design regulations around the same. While there has been no official announcement towards the same by the Government, this will be a great enabler to the Bitcoin ecosystem in India
What this means
India's great potential and lack of access to banking makes it a ripe market for cryptocurrencies. Coupled with recent developments, the ecosystem is headed in the right direction and should continue to attract investors. However, Bitcoin as a mode of financial transactions continues to lag far behind other countries.
Consumer Perspective
As a consumer, you will be hard-pressed to find opportunities to make purchases with your Bitcoins. On the other hand, tech savvy merchants who may have started accepting Bitcoins struggle to find any buyers - as was recently reported about Suryawanshi Restaurant in Bangalore - which has received 0 payments in Bitcoins since it started accepting the digital currency in 2016.
Looks like we still have a long way to go. What do you think?