India might finally be on the way to embracing cryptocurrency, in its various shapes and sizes, from Bitcoin to Dogecoin, if a report by Paymnts is to be believed.
India Learning from Other Countries?
With crypto becoming more and more popular across the world, and with countries like El Salvador becoming the first nation in the world to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, it seems only prudent that India too, would take notice of the sign of the times. And now, it seems like that is exactly what is bound to happen sooner rather than later, especially with crypto exchange Coinbase planning to expand its cover across the nation.
Coinbase is currently recruiting tech majors, and has said that it will be offering cryptocurrency as incentives. This will be done through “Cikka”, which is a condensed form of “Coinbase India Sikka”, an initiative under which, each new employee who joins Coinbase will be granted a one-sided payment of $1,000 in crypto at the start of their job. The firm says that it believes that the move will provide a boost to the new employees to learn more about crypto, so that they can contribute their part towards building the “next generation” of products that will be useful to their customers.
China Working to India’s Benefit?
At the same time, neighbouring country China is still strongly opposed to Bitcoin and its allies, and continues to come down hard on the crypto, as well as the mining of the same. Experts say that this too, might actually work in favour of the cryptocurrency market in India, with capital flows, as well as talents and interests that are freed from China, moving towards the country.
This growth of the crypto market in the nation comes soon after it had been the Indian government itself that had put a ban on the use or trade of crypto. However, at that time, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that they were not “shutting all options,” and that some windows for “experiments on blockchain, bitcoins or cryptocurrency.”
As such, it still remains to be seen what the future of this new initiative on Coinbase’s part, as well as the general scenario for crypto in the country. One report by The New Indian Express says that India may well be on its way to classifying cryptocurrency as an “asset”, and also that legislations regarding the same may also be on their way.
