September 15, 2017
The Bitcoin has gone on a tailspin in India, falling much faster that elsewhere in the globe, after a China crackdown on crypto-currencies and public remark by an Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official, trashing the digital currency.
September 15, 2017
The Bitcoin has gone on a tailspin in India, falling much faster that elsewhere in the globe, after a China crackdown on crypto-currencies and public remark by an Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official, trashing the digital currency.
The move confirmed earlier reports of Chinese officials mulling a closure of domestic exchanges for virtual currency trading, which sent the price of Bitcoin tumbling.
According to the data available with Zebpay, the value of the currency in India has declined from Rs 3,40,116 per unit on September 2 to hit a low of Rs 2,29,417 on September 15, indicating a fall of 48 per cent in less than two weeks.
Zebpay is an app-enabled Bitcoin wallet provider headquartered in Singapore with IT offices in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Ahmedabad. Zebpay is involved in sale and purchase of bitcoins since 2011. It started India’s first bitcoin exchange in 2012.
On future of Bitcoin, Bitcoin expert Hitesh Malviya said, “Bitcoin as a protocol will evolve, but most people forget the simple fact that it is a protocol, and money happens to be first application of this protocol. Monetary aspect of bitcoin will face regulations in most countries. The future of bitcoin as currency will be more controlled and regulated by governments which will eventually reduce the volatility. It will devise a new method of payments for websites, social media and freelancers.
Till recently, Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies were hailed as something that would usher in a new world order for the monetary system and challenge the establishment, including global central banks.
But in recent times, these new-age currencies have been losing the battle against regulators. Bitcoin, the biggest names among such non-fiat currencies, is going through one of its toughest phases in 2017, plunging some 27 per cent since September 7 in global markets.
Earlier this week, a Reserve Bank of India official virtually trashed the crypto-currencies. "As regards non-fiat crypto-currencies, I think we are not comfortable,” Sudharshan Sen, RBI's Executive Director, said at a Mumbai event.
RBI has been repeatedly cautioning people about the usage of crypto-currencies, flagging a slew of concerns.
Crypto-currencies, also called virtual currencies, are created and held electronically. Bitcoin, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, is commonly known as a decentralized digital currency.
These new-age currencies have been the talk of the town and are garnering a lot of publicity. However, of late all that is being said about Bitcoin in globally has not been too positive.
The currency came under severe pressure after BTCChina, one of the biggest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, on Thursday announced that it would shut down all trading activities on its platform from September 30, after the regulators clamped down on crypto-currencies.
The move confirmed earlier reports of Chinese officials mulling a closure of domestic exchanges for virtual currency trading, which sent the price of Bitcoin tumbling.
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon earlier this week said he would fire any employee trading in Bitcoin for being ‘stupid’. “The crypto-currency won’t end well,” he told an investor conference in New York on Tuesday, predicting that it will eventually blow up.
“Bitcoins have had two major crashes in the past as well. Unfortunately, it has become synonymous with criminal activities where criminals are using bitcoins wallets to hide their identity. Though unlikely, but government may lose patience with it and end up banning it,” said Tarun Wig, co-founder of Innefu Labs.
Courtesy/Source: ET
