“Positive crypto regulations will generate wealth and millions of jobs in India,” says Nischal Shetty, CEO of crypto exchange
In the first Financial Fox episode of 2019, crypto PR guru Stefania Barbaglio interviewed Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO of WazirX, the most trusted crypto exchange in India. Shetty talks about the country’s ever-growing crypto scene and his online campaign to raise awareness about the importance of setting up a welcoming regulatory framework which will allow cryptocurrencies to improve the economic conditions of the Indian population.
Founded in 2018, WazirX is quickly expanding, at a 15% growth a month according to Shetty. WazirX is a Cryptocurrency exchange with an advanced trading interface and features to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies in India. It’s an exchange with a Live Open Order Book system that lets users trade digital assets like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash & many more.
The impressive growth of WazirX is in reality a reflection of the expansion of the crypto revolution in India. “The excitement around crypto in India is huge,” says Shetty, as he believes that there are collectively about 5 to 6 million cryptocurrency users in India, with highest concentration being among the younger population, who see crypto as the future of finance.
The current scene in India is not favourable for cryptocurrencies, although they have not been banned or made illegal by the government. The real problem now is lack of clear guidelines, as the Indian government has not been very forthcoming about where they stand in terms of cryptocurrencies, he says.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prohibited banks from enabling transactions related to cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges from having bank accounts, but despite the banking ban, manyIndians are trading on crypto exchanges. In December 2018, WarziX reported a record in trading volumes.
Rumour has it that the government will release a draft for crypto policy in February, so with over 50k followers on social media, Shetty recently started the campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto to catch the attention of India’s Finance Ministry around cryptocurrency regulations: “We need positive regulations to allow Indians to be part of the crypto revolution that is happening around the world.”
More than just calling for official regulations, the campaign aims to show the advantages that cryptocurrencies can bring to people’s lives, especially in emerging economies like India.
India has the second-largest unbanked population in the world — over 190 million Indians over the age of 15 don’t have a bank account — but has one of the largest numbers of smartphones in the world. Cryptocurrencies act at the heart of this problem: “Internet penetration is faster and higher in India — and when you have internet you have access to cryptocurrencies.”
The blockchain space offers many opportunities for youth; Shetty believes that implementing positive regulations and allowing Indian people to integrate the digital currency economy will bring wealth and millions of jobs, creating a big boost for the national economy: “Over the last 10–15 years, the IT boom created possibly around 4 million jobs in India. This same effect can be replicated now in the crypto revolution with positive regulations in place,” said Shetty.
Talks about crypto regulations have gained more attention worldwide. Recently, two major European authorities have publicly called for better assessments of crypto technology and its impacts in order to develop appropriate regulations.
More developments are expected soon in the crypto regulatory space in India. Follow us on @cassiopeia_ltd and subscribe to our YouTube channel FinancialFox.
