Topic: [2017-12-01] IndiaTimes: How to ride the bitcoin rally in India (Read 1899 times)

How to ride the bitcoin rally in India

Here’s a primer on Bitcoins. Read this and a lot more, prior to investing in cryptocurrencies. One should not invest large sums of money in Bitcoins as it is a very volatile asset class. Cryptocurrencies are not issued or backed by banks or governments. Absence of a regulator makes legal recourse almost non-existent in cryptocurrency investments.

What is a Bitcoin?
It’s not a coin, but a code or a virtual token that can be freely transferred from one user to another through a secured network. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency.

Where do you buy in India?
There are about 11 trading platforms in India to buy Bitcoins. Those include Unocoin, Zebpay, Coinsecure, Coinmama, LocalBitcoins, Bitcoin ATMs.

Is it too expensive to buy?
Globally, the cryptocurrency surged past $11,000 to hit a record high on Wednesday. In rupee terms, it recently touched Rs 8.6 lakh per unit.

So, are Bitcoins a rich man’s asset class?
You can buy even a fraction of a unit with a minimum of Rs 1,000. Consider Bitcoin as a rupee coin now; it can be fragmented into smaller bits (like paisa in a rupee). So you can buy even 0.2 or 0.3 ‘bit’ of a Bitcoin as well. Bitcoins can be fragmented far more times than fiat currencies.

Where can Bitcoins be used in India?
As of now, there aren’t many avenues to use Bitcoins in India. But ecommerce players such as Flipkart, Amazon and MakeMyTrip run voucher programmes for people using Bitcoin exchanges, but they do not accept payment in Bitcoins. Many a time, exchanges convert Bitcoin into normal currency.

How many Bitcoins are traded in India currently?
Bitcoin trading volumes could be in the range of Rs 200–250 crore every month.

What other cryptocurrencies are in play apart from Bitcoins?
Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and Ripple are quite popular among cryptocurrency users. The prices of many of these digital currencies have gone up in tandem with Bitcoins.

How many people are using cryptocurrencies globally?
More than three million people are estimated to be actively using cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin. (Source: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance).

How ‘powerful’ is Bitcoin in terms of purchasing power?
In 2013, a US-based cryptocurrency enthusiast bought a Tesla Model S paying just under 92 Bitcoins. The real currency value of Model S was over $100,000 at the time.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/how-to-ride-the-bitcoin-rally-in-india/articleshow/61873468.cms