Many Indians want to use cryptocurrencies for other transactions, too.
In India, bitcoin is the people’s forbidden fantasy.
About 10% of the world’s bitcoin transactions take place in India, Constantin Papadimitriou, president of Pundi X, told Quartz. The Indonesian company, which focuses on offline cryptocurrency sales, surveyed 3,000 respondents across India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US to understand the rise of alternative currencies among mainstream consumers.
This enthusiasm would explain the Indian government’s concerns, given its refusal to recognise cryptocurrencies as legal tender and warnings against investing in them. It even compared bitcoin and the likes to a ponzi scheme. This push-back has forced Pundi X to put on hold its plans to launch a network of point-of-sales terminals in India to help people buy, sell, and transact in virtual currencies over the counter.
But Indians are generally more savvy than their government, with a majority of those surveyed being bullish about cryptocurrencies.
In fact, if given an opportunity and the means, a lot of Indians are ready to jump on to the cryptocurrency bandwagon. When asked what they’d do if handed $1,000, virtual currencies were trumped only by traditional banks.
Source/More: India’s love for bitcoin is strong, despite RBI and government warnings — Quartz
