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Bitpagos INC – Setting The Era Of Revolutionizing Financial Solution of Bitcoin In Latin America

The year of 2009, it was the first time when Blockchain technology emerged with a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. The world witnessed the strength of it. In fact, many saw the destiny of financial sectors in cryptocurrency. However, when Bitcoin boomed in Argentina it got more exposure. Because it was the years when the country was midmost of one more financial crisis.

At that time, many Bitcoin-based start-ups were rises all over the world, especially in Latin America. Perhaps, only a couple of start-ups could stand in the business. BitPagos Inc. is one of such a milestone of blockchain-based company, which is founded in 2013. But in a very short duration, it changed the scenario of the financial situation in Latin America. Today, BitPagos is helping numerous users and traders in Argentina. Also, it brags over 3 lakhs users in Latin America.

What is BitPagos Inc?

BitPagos is the Bitcoin and electronics payments-based start-up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was co-founded by Sebastian Serrano in 2013. Presently, it is one of the oldest blockchain-based company in the world. BitPagos was at the battlefield final at TechCrunch Disrupt New York in 2016. That time, the company marked the new beginning of the Cryptocurrency age.

The company starts the new chapter of Blockchain technology in 2017, with a new name Ripio Credit Network. As a matter of fact, Ripio is the Spanish word for gravel. Which literally means, the raw material to build roads. Apparently, the company is building the roads for the digital economy in Latin America.

How BitPagos stand different from other Bitcoin Start-ups?

We know that credit card is the best option for online purchasing. But bank accounts are must to have credit cards. However, it is very difficult in the Latin American region, where very few persons have credit cards. Also, one-half of the adults in Argentina, and other parts of Latin America don’t have bank accounts yet.

For the first time in a world, BitPagos enables the non-banking credits using blockchain technology. It’s a big step to promote financial inclusion in the sphere, which was tolerating the series of financial crises over the decades.

Sebastian Serrano- Mastermind of BitPagos

Sebastian Serrano
Image Source – Google Images

Sebastian Serrano is a software developer. He is also famous as a serial entrepreneur in Argentina. Currently, he is the CEO and co-founder of BitPagos, which is today known as the Ripio Credit Network.

Early Life

He grew up in Choele Choel, Rio negro, Argentina. Since the teenage, Sebastian was fascinated by programming and start-ups. In fact, he started programming at the age of 7. Sebastian was an intelligent kid. During the high school day, he helped to build the first Internet Service Provider of his hometown in Patagonia.

Earlier Achievements

Before redefining the cryptocurrency age, he was a software developing entrepreneur. He founded a software development consulting firm, familiar as devsAr.com. Also, he worked for the Ministry of Finance, Argentina. Later, he founded the company BitPagos, which is one of the successful bitcoin start-ups.

Inspiration for founding BitPagos

Sebastian witnessed the three economic collapses in Argentina. During that period, he saw the struggle of his parents to feed the family. He lived among those people, who are still apart from conventional banking. Also, he was intimate with the difficulties people have to face for trade and to keep their savings.

Thus, his objective has always been to promote financial inclusion all over Latin America. Exclusively, covering the region historically left away by the traditional banking system.

Triumph of BitPagos (Ripio)

BitPagos launched the Bitcoin processor in 2013. It was the time when blockchain technology just came out of the eggshell. Afterward, the company launched the crypto wallet, which first time enabled online credit services. Ripio wallet is the main product of the company which offers many services. Like utility payments, mobile phone top-ups, cryptocurrency brokerages, and other traditional wallet services. In addition, provides credit services using digital currency.

Later Successes

Currently, the company is working to run real-world fiat on-ramps in Argentina. Also, to encourage convenience stores to sell small amounts of bitcoin. As for now, around 8000 stores are active across the country. Today, Ripio has more than 250,000 users. Furthermore, it aims to expand the services into Mexico, Brazil, and other regions of the world.

Ripio, formerly BitPagos is the best example of an innovative start-up, which has marked the beginning of a new digital economy.

Legal way to sell Bitcoins in India and get cash in bank

After RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India) curbs on cryptocurrency where most of cryptocurrency exchanges in India stopped selling of cryptocurrencies for money, many Indian investors were left wondering what to do to cash out the Bitcoins (BTC) they had. In 2018 RBI declared cryptocurrencies as not a legal tender and barred banks to deal in it.

Today there is no direct way to sell your bitcoins and get the money in your bank account in India. Hence people holding Bitcoins who want to sell and get money in their bank are stuck. One way is to transfer your BitCoins to some international exchange wallet and sell there and get money in either some US or UK account or PayPal account (if you qualify to add PayPal). In most cases this is not an easy task for people with Indian ID proofs.

However, there is a way which lets you to sell your BitCoins and get the  cash in your bank account. It is called P2P trading. In P2P trading offered by exchanges like Localbitcoins or WazirX, buyer and seller are matched and cash transaction happens directly between seller and buyer. 

Cash out cryptocurrency in India 
In India you can use exchanges like WazirX that offer P2P trading to sell your Bitcoins or other cryptocurrency and get the cash in your bank or PayTM account.

  1. Create an account on WazirX
  2. Add your bank account, UPI and PayTM details
  3. If you are holding cryptocurrency on any other exchange or wallet, transfer it to WazirX using your WazirX address. Make sure to use correct wallet address.
  4. Once you see your Bitcoins in WazirX wallet, you are ready to trade 
  5. In order to sell Bitcoins you need to first convert it into USDT (another cryptocurrency like BTC) in WaZirX. Hence first trade in BTC to USDT
  6. Once you have got all BTC or any other cryptocurrency converted in USDT, you can go for P2P trade
  7. Go to P2P interface and create a sell order for USDT
  8. You can also check market to see buying offers so that you can create your sell order accordingly
  9. Once your order is placed, it will be matched with buyer(s)
  10. Mostly it takes less than 30 mins
  11. Once the order is matched, buyer will transfer money in your bank account and BTC are locked in escrow until you confirm the payment in WazirX
  12. Sometimes your trade if larger in size may be completed in 2-3 orders. Once you start getting payment(s), you need to confirm the payment so that WazirX can release BTC to buyer

So before 2018 where money was transacting through cryptoexchange to bank and vice versa, it is now a bank transaction between two people (buyer and seller) in which cryptoexchange is not involved. P2P exchange just connects buyers and sellers and keeps the digital coins in escrow till seller confirms that he has received the money and it is now OK to transfer the digital coins to buyer.