India is not just famous for being world’s most over-populated country after China, but it is also known as one of the first countries within Asia to adopt cryptocurrency after China.
Cryptocurrency and the World
The business of cryptocurrencies is flourishing all over the world but the history of cryptocurrency in India remains a turbulent one. At the time when the concept of cryptocurrency was introduced to the world in 2009, India too could not resist and soon joined with other by adopting cryptocurrency within its system. But in the beginning only a handful of crypto exchanges were established in the country which only managed to acquire a low number of investors but the investors continued to grow exceptionally since 2013.
2013 was the year which led worldwide recognition to the cryptocurrency. The event in cryptocurrency history is attributed to the world’s first every digital currency, Bitcoin. The initial Bitcoin owners in 2013 managed to sell their Bitcoins for more than US$ 10,000/- each which they had only bought under US$ 10/-. This incident sparked a wildfire amongst investors who then started to pour in their investment all over the world in the world of cryptocurrency. India too saw a considerable increase in the number of investors in the same year.
Cryptocurrency’s Existence in India
However, as mentioned above, the history of cryptocurrency in India remained very threatening. The Government of India in the year 2019 imposed a ban on the trading of cryptocurrency which resulted in closure of crypto exchange firms and seriously damaged the credibility of cryptocurrency amongst Indian investors. The exchanges were forced to shift their offices outside India and many potential crypto investors were jeopardized who were then compelled not to invest in the cryptocurrency.
Later on various cases were filed in the Indian High Court which also did not do much of favor to cryptocurrency and upheld the decision of the Indian Government. The case was then taken to the Indian Supreme Court which subsequently directed the Indian Government to suspend the ban in April this year and once again India was put on right track. Crypto exchange firms started to grow like mushrooms all across India. Investors’ confidence was once again restored and within no time the number of investors increase manifold.
Scammers in India
But India is also famous for housing a large number of scammers and hackers who are notorious for causing scams and stealing monies worldwide. It is said that India is safe haven for the scammers. Though the cryptocurrency industry just started to show signs of growth, yet many incidents of scams have been reported since the industry’s resurrection in April 2020. Very recently it has been reported that a crypto exchange firm under the name Pluto Exchange was established by scammers to lure in investors. It has been complained of that the exchange managed to commit scam on 47 investors whose collective investment was around US$ 270,000. Similarly, very recently, hackers also managed to hack into the account of the country’s premier and were later found asking for crypto donations.
Such incidents have seriously affected the viability of crypto business within India.
Future of Crypto in India
Currently there is an alarming situation in India with regard to the cryptocurrency business. The news on the go within India is that the Indian Government is once again working towards imposing another ban on the crypto because the Indian Government feels that the crypto business is “illegal”. It is said that the earlier attempt for banning the crypto in the country would not be fruitful because the ban was imposed through Reserve Bank of India. However, at this time the Indian Government is well-prepared and wants to impose the bank through legislative framework. Indian Government is said to have drafted a law for banning the crypto which will be first scrutinized by the Parliament and then it will be passed.
Though the crypto exchange firms within the country report a huge growth in the number of crypto investors yet it seems that once again the future of crypto in India is under grave threat. The whole world has recognized crypto as an essential part of the financial system and therefore India too should reconsider its decision and should not repeat the mistake.