Aug 182013
Falling Indian Rupee
Bitcoin has a huge potential in India. Here are some of the reasons I think Bitcoin can really take off in India –
- Positive Bitcoin wallet downloads in July compared to June, about a 10% rise. This is compared to almost -40% in the United States. This shows that Bitcoin is really picking up in India of late.
- The Rupee is on the fall. The currency, the Rupee, has been on a steady decline, falling by 28% in the last two years. Bitcoin can act as a store of value instead of the Rupee for the savers.
- Inflation has been consistently high, with 5.79% wholesale price index inflation, that is thought to understate the actual retail price inflation. Bitcoin can be a store of value.
- The central bank announced that it will not regulate Bitcoin as of now. This makes it hugely profitable for the local businesses and entrepreneurs to get on board with Bitcoin before the central bank or government change their minds. Innovation can shift from the US to India, owing to current regulatory hurdles in the US.
- World’s second largest population and one of the fastest growing internet user base provides a huge potential for Bitcoin.
- Huge number of unbanked population can now enjoy the benefits of banking through Bitcoin through the right services, similar to mobile phone Bitcoin payments in parts of Africa. 41% of India’s population is unbanked.
- Lack of faith in government and poor implementation of laws can easily force the people towards a free-market based solution to economics. Less than 3% of Indians pay income tax and the government cannot realistically do anything about it.
What do you think will be the major forces that will push India towards a Bitcoin based future?
4 Responses to “Will Bitcoin Take Off in India?”
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I definitely feel that it has the potential, especially given the fact there are many Indians who work online, whether through owning their own business, or freelancing, so it would be a natural progression for anyone involved in tech or doing business online.
The central bank’s decision looks to be a good one. Bitcoin is so young (as a protocol and as a currency) that stiff regulation will only impede its growth and stifle innovation.
I agree Rob. There are definitely a lot of Indians working online and PayPal has a lot of restrictions in terms of how much can be transferred in and out of there into Indian Rupees. Bitcoin can fill in a very good void. I like the central bank’s stand too. They’re waiting to see what happens with it, which is great for innovation in the meantime.
Yes with the plunge in the Rupee and the love of gold in India BTC will take off. Also the astouding commonsense aspect of built-in privacy and encryption integral to BTC I believe most people anywhere naturally gravitate towards BTC. I suspect as we have seen different people and cultures will develop
their own crytocurrencies. It seems to me that most economies could use BTC now just the fact that BTC has no central bank and is basically free of banksters is enough to make most people happy.
It’s always good to have a diverse community around Bitcoin. India has a good need for Bitcoin now and there is ample human capital to develop on this platform. Lets see what comes out of it