Singapore’s digital currency market is booming. Coinstore started operating in India when the Indian government was drafting a bill that would effectively ban the use of most private cryptocurrencies. In addition to developing an app and web platform, Coinstore plans to open offices in Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai, a platform that will serve as a foundation for further expansion in India.
“With India accounting for nearly a quarter of our total active users, it made sense for us to expand into the market,” Charles Tan, Coinstore’s head of advertising and marketing, told Reuters.
Source: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/
“There have been policy reversals,” Tan said when asked why Coinstore is launching in India despite the looming cryptocurrency crackdown. “But we hope things will be positive, and we are optimistic that the Indian government will come up with a healthy framework for cryptocurrencies.”
The New Delhi government intends to discourage cryptocurrency trading by imposing high capital gains and other taxes, according to two sources. On its legislative agenda for the upcoming winter session, the House has stated that only certain cryptocurrencies will be permitted to promote the technology and applications they entail.
Coinstore plans to hire about 100 people in India and spend $20 million (around Rs. 150 crores) on marketing, hiring, and developing cryptocurrency-related products and services for the Indian market, according to Tan.
Coinstore is the second global exchange to open a local unit in India in the last few months after CrossTower did so in September. Since the beginning of this year, the price of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has more than doubled, attracting hordes of Indian investors. As of 10 a.m. IST on November 29, the price of bitcoin in India was Rs. 43.13 lakh.
Industry estimates put the number of crypto investors in India at 15 million to 20 million, with a total market capitalization of around Rs. 40,000 crore. Coinstore intends to expand into Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam, according to Tan.
There has been a drop in new cryptocurrency exchange sign-ups, as potential investors appear to be hedging their bets until regulatory clarity on the asset class emerges. A matrix is used to value crypto companies based on new user sign-ups.
The bill aims to outlaw all private cryptocurrencies in India, but makes “certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its applications.” So far in November, crypto exchanges have seen a 15-50 percent drop in new sign-ups.
They’ve also seen a drop in monthly transactions as some investors hedged their bets and went into “wait and see” mode.
“On a week-to-week basis, we’ve seen a 20% drop in new sign-ups.” During the recent bull cycle, we had an average daily sign-up rate of 8,000-10,000 people. “Right now, we’re getting 5,000-6,000 new users per day,” BuyUcoin CEO Shivam Thakral said.
“We haven’t seen any significant changes in these numbers on our platform because we primarily cater to retail investors who are looking to invest for the long term,” said Ashish Singhal, CEO of CoinSwitch Kuber.
“People who have already held crypto assets through mining or payments are selling them, which has resulted in an increase in the number of sign-ups. As a result, we’re seeing some of the new members depositing cryptos, selling them, withdrawing money, and depositing it in their bank accounts,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder, and CEO of Unocoin, a cryptocurrency exchange.Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Despite price fluctuations last Tuesday after the government moved to regulate the sector, smaller exchanges reported steady sign-ups as people continued to be curious about the new asset class.
