August 31, 2022
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0How to Buy Bitcoin in India
Countries regulate digital assets differently. While some countries actively trade coins, others forbid their use. In 2021, the legal status of cryptocurrencies in India remained uncertain.
Despite this unevenness, the number of crypto enthusiasts in the country is steadily growing. According to one brokerage company, at the end of 2021, over 100 million citizens invested in this new asset class — more than anywhere else in the world.
The demand for digital coins has turned India into one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets. The leadership was provided by great activity on decentralized financing platforms.
In this article, we will tell you how to buy bitcoin in India.
How to buy bitcoin in the UK. Read more here.
Cryptocurrency’s popularity in India
Blockchain and digital coins are radically changing the financial structure of states. According to the World Bank, in 2022 India is among the ten largest economies in the world. The country’s GDP is $2.94 trillion. However, almost 190 million Indians do not have access to banking services due to infrastructure problems or lack of documents to open an account.
Most of these people use smartphones and go online. They can easily pay for purchases with cryptocurrency. But the authorities still have a lot to do before digital money is recognized as a legitimate means of payment. In the meantime, cryptocurrency in India is used for other purposes:
- Cross-border money transfers. For several years, India has remained the world’s top-ranked country in terms of population outflow (about 17 million people per year.) Migrants create a great demand for money transfers. In 2021, the volume of incoming transactions amounted to $83 billion. Cryptocurrency transfers are cheaper (about $0.02 instead of the standard $6.82) and are faster.
- Protection against inflation. In 2020-2021, the exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the dollar grew, which led to the depreciation of the national currency. At the same time, the volume of trading in digital coins on crypto exchanges has increased. Many Indians have realized that bitcoin can be a more reliable asset than paper money.
- Investment tools. According to the data, in 2021, Indians invested almost $40 billion in cryptocurrencies. This is 200 times more than in 2020 ($200 million). Most of the Indian investors are residents of large and medium-sized cities who invest in digital assets to get additional income.
The best bitcoin crypto wallets you should use are here.
Features of cryptocurrency regulation in India
In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular prohibiting financial institutions from servicing companies related to digital currencies. After that, local crypto exchanges began to close.
In 2020, the country’s Supreme Court lifted the ban on operations with digital coins. This caused a rapid growth of trading on cryptocurrency exchanges. In 2021, the number of registrations on the largest Indian platform WazirX increased by 2648%. In total, at the four leading sites in the country, the trading volume increased from $10.6 million to $102 million.
In 2021, the Indian authorities were actively engaged in regulating cryptocurrencies. In December, the government drafted a bill that would oblige Indians to disclose information about their digital assets and transfer them to regulated platforms.
As part of the fight against money laundering, all anonymous transactions and noncustodial wallets will be banned. Cryptocurrencies in India are equated to assets. The income from the transactions will be added to the tax base.
How to buy bitcoin in India
While Indians are waiting for the establishment of clear rules for trading digital coins, many new platforms are entering the market. Here are some of the largest crypto exchanges where you can buy bitcoins in India.
Crypton Exchange
Crypton Exchange is a decentralized no-KYC crypto exchange based on the anonymous Utopia P2P ecosystem. Its connection to the ecosystem gives the exchange additional independence and efficiency, even in the case of domain blocking. In such a case, the exchange will still work based on Utopia P2P.
Learn more about Utopia P2P here.
To register on the exchange, you need to register anonymously in the ecosystem. No personal data, phone number, passport photo, or other documents are needed. The exchange operates worldwide without limits or restrictions.
You can buy, sell, exchange, or withdraw both the internal cryptocurrency of the Utopia P2P ecosystem, Crypton (CRP), and UUSD Stablecoin, along with several other popular coins: Bitcoin, Monero, USDT, DAI.
All benefits of Crypton Exchange are here.
CoinDCX
CoinDCX is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India. Although the exchange was registered in Singapore in 2018, it has a main branch in India.
It is an ISO-certified company whose goal is to provide usability by providing its users with access to a wide range of financial products and services supported by industry-leading security processes and insurance protection.
The platform offers access to 200 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins.
WazirX
WazirX is a cryptocurrency exchange based in India that was founded in March 2018. In November 2019, WazirX was acquired by the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Indians, including professional traders and novice investors, can buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BCH, LTC, DASH, and many other coins on WazirX.
Paxful
Paxful is a peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform founded in 2015. The platform acts as a bridge between buyers and sellers of bitcoin, including in India, as they convert Indian Rupees (INR) into BTC.
How to buy bitcoin anonymously. Find out more working ways.
India’s national cryptocurrency
In November 2021, the RBI invited parliamentarians to consider the initiative to launch a digital rupee. The launch of the national cryptocurrency pilot project (CBDC) is expected by the first quarter of 2023. In the meantime, the Central Bank is working on certain aspects of its implementation. In particular, financiers are deciding whether the technology should be decentralized or semi-regulated. The initiative was proposed within the framework of the draft law on cryptocurrencies, which will be considered by parliament in the current session.
The government started talking about the launch of the currency for the first time in 2018. Then, the RBI announced its intention to reduce the cost of making cash (about 90 million rupees per year).
In 2020, the National Institute of Intelligent Management (NISG) presented a project for the development of blockchain technology in the country for discussion. The document provided for the creation of one of the leading ecosystems in the field of innovation in India. It was assumed that by 2025, blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies would be introduced in all public sectors. As one of the central conditions for the implementation of the strategy, the researchers called for the release of CBDC.
In January 2022, the RBI formed a department for fintech tasks, which will develop rules for crypto regulation and the state digital currency. The department was headed by RBI Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudhary. Local experts believe that this is a good sign that could lead to accelerated piloting of the CBDC.
Have you heard about algorithmic stablecoin? Learn more here.
