SUMMARY
OKEx’s visits from India saw the highest increase, reaching 545.56%
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethirum (ETH) prices are at $ $10,103.5 and $247, respectively
BTC, on Monday, witnessed a price surge by almost $1,000 in less than 12 hours
India's Crypto Economy
India's Crypto Economy is a brand-new weekly newsletter (delivered every Thursday) from Inc42 to help you decode the rapidly growing crypto economy and its implications on business, work and life. We launched this newsletter on the 4th anniversary of our weekly series “Crypto This Week” which completed 190 editions in May, 2021.
According to cryptocurrency research platform Coinpaprika and global crypto exchange OKEx, India is poised to gain considerable global market share of crypto transactions this year.
The report published last week showcased that the trading volume of Indian crypto exchange platforms, CoinDCX and WazirX, witnessed an increase in the trading volume since the ease of cryptocurrency trade policy in the country. As per Similarweb, the website traffic of major crypto exchanges from India has increased during 2020 Q1.
Furthermore, the report revealed that OKEx’s visits from India saw the highest increase, reaching 545.56%. It claimed that newly registered users from India rose by 4100% during the same period. The global crypto exchange platform is now eyeing India and has plans to launch P2P trading platform in the country soon, which will allow Indian users to buy Bitcoins, Etherium and other digital currencies with INR via multiple payment channels.
Previously, another global crypto exchange platform Kraken had also announced that it will be expanding to the Indian market this year. With this, the crypto market in India is expected to get fierce in the coming months.
However, the crypto market still faces challenges in terms of lack of clear regulatory policies, including tax obligations. Also, there is no clarity in terms of how cryptocurrency can be used for cross-border transactions or for conversion into more stable currencies such as Bitcoin and Etherium. More than anything, the market is influenced by political factors, and any fluctuation or move towards a decentralised market, Bitcoin may no longer be necessary for Indians.
At the same time, as a utility token, the demand for Bitcoin has significantly increased in countries where the fiat currency has depreciated in value.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) at the time of writing was $10,103.5, with a market cap of $185 Bn, compared to last week (May 26, 2020) which stood at $8,821.92, with a market cap of $162 Bn. Interestingly, Bitcoin on Monday (June 1) the price increased by almost $1,000 in less than 12 hours.
Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, was priced at $247, with a market cap of $27 Bn at the time of writing, compared to last week (May 26, 2020), where the price of the cryptocurrency was $202, with a market cap of $22 Bn.
Cryptocurrency News Of The Week:
Zebpay Partners With Chainalysis To Monitor Transactions In India
Singapore-based crypto exchange and wallet provider Zebpay recently announced that it has commissioned blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis to monitor transactions executed across its platforms in India. Through this partnership, Chainalysis will provide Zebpay real-time alerts in case of any suspicious or high-risk transactions across the platform. Avinash Shekhar, CFOat ZebPay said that they wanted to build a best-in-class compliance program in India from the start.
Swiss Regulator Allows B2B Bank Crypto Trading
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved Swiss bank InCore to perform B2B digital trading as a measure to create a blockchain-friendly environment across the EU banking sector. Also, the financial regulator has allowed the bank to develop its tokenization capabilities. Mark Dambacher, CEO of InCore Bank told Finews.ch that their customers will benefit from the expansion to the new asset class without having to invest in infrastructure and new processes.
Kraken Adds Support To US-Dollar Pegged Stablecoin, Tether
Crypto Exchange Platform Kraken announced that it is adding support for the Ethereum version of US-dollar pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT-ERC20). The company in its official blog post said that crypto traders using Kraken will now be able to tap into the biggest market for the USDT as the exchange will enable deposit and withdrawal for the stablecoin. With this, it expects to see an increase in trade volumes across its different markets once support for the stablecoin is enabled.
