Bitcoin rally in 2017 has changes the way how the retail investor is managing its short term and long term investment. As the experts in world are looking at Bitcoin and other crypto currencies from different perspective of threat, risk, and fraud, there are also significant group who are also seeing the Crypto Market as opportunity for new generation. Today, crypto currency is most talked about topic among new generation and thus its has attracted India, a nation with 65% of population below the age of 35. In last couple of years we have noticed youth in India have shown significant interest in crypto market bet it trading or mining. But like any other nation India is also facing its share of challenges, risk and opportunities about crypto currencies.
Challenges:
Negative publicity- Most of the Indian media have projected Bitcoin and crypto currency market either with negative perspective or they have rated traditional investment options still better that crypto option. This restrict the decisions of new investor to invest in crypto market in India
Lack of source of Information or content on Crypto- Very less source of information is available to understand Crypto currencies in Indian Context. Whatever is available either they discourage the crypto investment or they just mirror the international trends in major markets, which actually doesn’t help new investor to correlate in Indian context.
Discouragement from Government and Banks- Indian Government and Reserve Bank of India have clearly warned investors against Crypto investment with giving any real reason behind that. Major Indian banks have also warned and restricted its customer to utilize their money for crypto currency investment
Risks:
Government Regulations- Though today Indian Govt does not have any clear stand on Bitcoin and other Crypto currencies. But, there is very remote chance of Banning crypto currency in India (Chances are minimal, but common investor can not predict it)
But guys banning cryptocurrencies don’t mean you will lose you crypto holding, it's just you will not be able to use or trade in Indian exchange. So better don’t leave you crypto holding in Indian crypto exchange.
The credibility of Indian Crypto Exchange- Almost all Indian crypto exchange are coming as startup and they are not being regulated by any Govt agency to save guard your fund or interest. Their challenges also go multifold as they are operating in the country where government and banks discourage the core business model of Crypto trading
Opportunity:
Though in recent Govt direction they have said they will explore the blockchain technology but they have still not cleared their stand on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency. But having said the opportunity in Bitcoin is as good as any other country, but one needs to take caution due to risk and challenges mentioned above. So, what should you do if you want to invest in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency. Here are few guidelines:
If you ask me, should you invest in Bitcoin? The answer is definite YES. But with few checkpoints:
• Don’t go with storing of minting money by investing Bitcoin, consider this as any other investment which may need patience and research. If you will be lucky then you may get amazing returns in week or month.
• Don’t check the rates daily, as the fluctuation in Bitcoin and crypto is huge, so you may feel anxious but don’t go with daily rates check if you are investor and not a day trader
• If you are an investor, don’t keep your bitcoin of crypto in exchange, better to invest in Hardware wallet or Good software wallet.
• Be smart and do your research, Bitcoin is lucrative but also there are frauds in the market, so don’t trust anyone except your own research.