by Gunjan Bhatia
Millennial population in India is estimated at 426 million, which is approximately 34% of the total population.
The generation that grew up with technology is eager to invest in new innovations, making it easier for new-age companies to focus more on alternative investments.
One such investment is Cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has been searched on the web for the “most innovative cryptocurrencies” making investors highly inquisitive to know about what’s next for the asset class.
Bitcoin has now become an increasingly popular choice of alternative investment in for millennials who are looking to diversify their portfolios. ETBFSI reached out to some millennials to get their views on cryptocurrency.
Varsha Bhatia, a working professorial said, “Cryptocurrency is the most profitable investment in the last one year time frame and the government will not ban crypto trade as it provides a great earning opportunity that many countries have welcomed.”
She further said that regulating the crypto trades would benefit the government, and that they have a great scope of earning tax from the huge volume of trades.
Twenty-two-year-old Kamya Sundrani, founder of a start-up Grandma’s Nuske said, “Around 7-10 million people who have invested in crypto in India with over a billion dollars in crypto assets, the government will not ban as this is people’s hard earned money, I believe the government will sooner find a framework for the crypto industry to grow in India.”
Meanwhile, an MBA student, Nishad Wadke said, “I have a good understanding on cryptocurrency but I am skeptical on staring my investment journey in crypto due to its nature of higher volatility. I also have a concern on a lack of clarity over the status of cryptocurrencies in India.”
“I believe a regulatory body and proper guidelines will be helpful, I look forward to Regulation of Official Digital Currency,” Nishad added.
Experts’ take on cryptocurrency
Last week, Bitcoin rose above $50,000 to a new record high. Investors attributed this spectacular growth to its perceived inflation-resistant qualities and expectations of wider mainstream acceptance.
Meanwhile, last year in September, the European commission had put forward plans to regulate crypto-assets, their first attempt to oversee the nascent technology. The Global Anti-Money laundering watchdog “Financial Action Task Force (FAFT)” had also released detailed guidelines on the regulations countries can adopt for cryptocurrencies and has been advising nations to implement these soon. Further, countries such as Japan, Australia and USA have started looking at regulating cryptocurrencies to benefit from the growth of the technology.
So, what can we expect from Indian authorities?
While commenting if India can see some regulation around Bitcoin in the coming years, Vikram Rangala, Chief Marketing Officer at ZebPay told ETBFSI, “Probably not.”
He thinks it will take another couple of years for crypto regulation to be implemented in India. “In the meantime, the industry has to self-regulate with the highest standards of transparency and customer protection, which is what we’ve been doing and will continue to do. And if policymakers want to look at what we’ve been doing as a guide, we’re ready and happy to open our records to them,” Rangala added.
Vikram Subburaj, co-founder and CEO, Giottus echoed similar sentiments. “When the developed nations are looking at regulating cryptocurrencies it will become detrimental for India, if we lose out on this technological race. So, all these strong global support for cryptocurrencies among developed nations might force India to look into regulating them. Year 2021 will mostly be a wait and watch on the actions by developed nations before the Indian regulators take a call on cryptocurrencies.”
