There is a huge difference between fiat and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The decentralized nature of Bitcoin makes it immune to whims and fancies of governments, while fiat currencies fall victim to it. Whenever a government decides to make reforms to its monetary system, for better or worse, people are the ones who bear the burnt. The Indian government has proven itself to be a great example in recent days.
The recent move to declare existing high-value currency notes of INR 1000 and INR 500 denominations as invalid effectively made over 80 percent of the bank notes in circulation worthless. With its poorly executed decision, the country’s central bank is unable to meet the demand for replacement banknotes, throwing life out of gear. The government’s misadventure has made the Indian population realize the ills of fiat currency and Bitcoin’s advantage over the former.
Armed with the new-found knowledge, people are now moving towards Bitcoin. ZebPay, one of the “Big Four” Indian Bitcoin companies has seen a sudden increase in new registrations. According to Sandeep Goenka, COO and Co-founder of ZebPay, the platform has got over 50,000 new users since last month. The “demonetization” announcement led to an increase in demand for Bitcoin among Indians. The sudden surge led to a drastic rise in the digital currency’s price within the domestic market.
Speaking about the future implications of growing interest in the digital currency, Sandeep Goenka said,
“It is a booster for blockchain related technologies in India… We can see a sudden spike in interest since the announcement. India has a growing interest in Bitcoin as an investment, commodity, and technology.”
So far, ZebPay’s mobile application has been downloaded by over 200,000 customers out of which 50,000 happened in last month alone. While India doesn’t have a clear regulatory policy towards digital currencies at the moment, the Indian Bitcoin platforms are currently following standard AML and KYC policies similar to that of the banking sector.
The demand for Bitcoin is expected to go up in the second most populous country as a majority of the population is yet to become part of the community, which is bound to happen soon.
Ref: Zee Business | Image: NewsBTC