Bitcoin topped $11,000 on Wednesday, capping a rally of more than 1,000 per cent since the start of the year. Bitcoin is one of many cryptocurrencies that have proliferated in recent years.
Investors who invested Rs 1,00,000 in the cryptocurrency in November 2010 have seen their wealth swell into a humongous Rs 625 crore in just seven years. The cryptocurrency has surged from nearly Rs 10 per bitcoin to above Rs 6,20,000 in India during this period, according to a report in The Economic Times.
Zebpay is India's first bitcoin company to launch simplest mobile bitcoin wallet app that enables bitcoin transactions using mobile number.
Unocoin is another leading bitcoin company in India that enables users to buy, sell, store, use and accept bitcoin.
Zebpay has Android and iPhone app which lets you link your bank account for quick transfers. You can buy bitcoins by making a payment to Zebpay's bank account. You can also withdraw the money to your bank account, and track data on bitcoin valuation in the country.
There is a KYC requirement and you need to verify your ID by simply clicking a photo of your PAN card.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services by-passing banks and the mainstream financial system.
Despite Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reluctance to recognise the cyptocurrency, the interest in bitcoins in India has not declined.
"The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities," the RBI had said.
“It took us about three years to gather one lakh (100,000) registered customers and in last one month itself we have seen about 2 lakh (200,000) customers registering with us,” Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, a bitcoin exchange, told Quartz India.
According to the Economic Times, BNP Paribas in a report said, “Bubble does not mean that it will burst soon. It depends on a host of factors, not least the possibility of self-fulfilling expectations that the price will continue to rise and this will bring in more participants. While the dotcom bubble inflated and burst, the capital that was diverted into the sector facilitated emergence of some of today’s giants like Amazon and Google. We are seeing a shift in resources. Is this a misallocation or seeds of a really worthwhile shift? Time will tell. We suspect crypto-currencies are here to stay.”
Experts are of the view that anonymity and the fact that there isn't any central authority managing the transactions make it a shady financial instrument and highly vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Created in 2009, bitcoin uses encryption and a blockchain database that enables fast and anonymous transfer of funds outside a traditional centralised payment system.