How to Buy Bitcoin in India

           Highlights

1. Coinome allows for Aadhaar backed eKYC
2. Coinsecure charges 0.4 percent as fees
3. Koinex has a reputation for availability of coins

Over the last 12 months, the price of Bitcoin has been a roller coaster and in India, we've gone from blank stares when talking about cryptocurrencies to interest and demand that's hard to keep up with. There are a number of different Bitcoin exchanges through which you can buy the coins, but international transactions involve a certain amount of uncertainty and delays with regular money transfers themselves. So if you're in India and are looking to buy Bitcoin, you may want to use a local exchange.

Buying Bitcoin isn't for the faint of heart though. Economists and others have been expressing doubts for long now about the feasibility of Bitcoin as an investment. There have also been questions raised about the suitability of Bitcoin for the needs of the financial industry. In India, the Income Tax department has been cracking down on cryptocurrency traders, covering Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and more. 

There's also the fact that the Indian government has said that Bitcoin can't be used as a part of the payments system. Speaking to the nation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reiterated that cryptocurrencies are not legal tenders, saying that their use "as part of the payment system" will be eliminated. However, the minister didn't explicitly mention anything about trading in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Still, if you've done your research and want buy Bitcoins, there are a number of options in India.

We started looking at such exchanges one year ago, and many of the exchanges we found at the time to be good options still remain active and have good reports from users. However, we have seen customer feedback on some of them turn sour, and there have been a few new entrants as well, which have received a positive response from most of their users. Here are the ones that sound like good picks in February 2018, based on what consumers are saying, on public forums ranging from Reddit and Quora, discussions on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, and by listening to recommendations from people who are actively trading in Bitcoin in India

1. Coinome

Recommended by a number of traders, and with generally positive feedback online, this exchange is backed by the payments company Billdesk, and launched near the end of November. It allows for instant eKYCusing your Aadhaar, and it doesn't buy or sell Bitcoin, serving as a platform to connect users instead. The Billdesk backing lends more authenticity to the company, and it's also got a reputation online for fast transfers. Another reason to like Coinome is that it offers instant withdrawals on all weekdays - very reassuring if you're worried about values dropping suddenly.

Check out Coinome on the Web

2. Coinsecure

Coinsecure has been around for a while now, and generally has positive feedback online. It offers a wallet along with an exchange, and is generally well designed and easy to use. There are a lot of guides on the site so you can learn more about Bitcoin trading there, and allows for trading of just Rs. 100 at a time. It charges 0.4 percent on trades, and you can have two-factor authentication to add security to your account.

Check out Coinsecure on the Web | Android

3. Koinex

Online, you'll see a lot of people swearing by Koinex, and a fair number swearing at it as well. Usually, you'll hear about people ditching it to move to Coinome, and people ditching Coinome for it, so it's safe to say that the online reputation is a little mixed. However, some traders that we have spoken to have been using it and say it remains a good, and easy to use option, with enough liquidity for day-trading, but its fees are a little high.People who have been using Bitcoin for purchases say that the ease of use and the availability of coins makes it a good option for people buying Bitcoin in India.

As with the others, you need KYC to use it, and your PAN card is mandatory here. It allows OTPs for security, and offers yearly statements of trades on request, which could be used for tax purposes.

Check out Koinex on the Web | Android

4. Remitano

Another reliable player that has come up in India is Remitano, a peer to peer Bitcoin exchange that promises instant transfers and withdrawals as well, and offers an escrow facility. The idea behind this is to make the transfer of funds between people safer, as the Bitcoins are locked until the seller confirms payment. It also offers a wallet if you need one, although most people recommend saving your Bitcoin offline.

In a way, Remitano being on the list also highlights how changeable all these companies' reputations are. Around September, you'd find a lot of people complaining about Remitano online, but in the last two months, we've seen a lot more positive comments, including an active Bitcoin trader whose opinions we trust.

Check out Remitano on the Web | Android | iOS

These four choices are looking like the best options at this point, but two of the exchanges we looked at last year, Unocoin and Zebpay are also worth considering. Both exchanges offer mobile apps so you can easily check and manage them at any time, but we've seen a large number of online complaints about speed, fees, and issues with delays in KYC. In general, both seem to be reliable, and have Indian customer care numbers so you can reach them more easily, but they don't seem to be the most favoured options amongst Bitcoin traders anymore.

Another option, which we mentioned earlier, is BuyUCoin. The site was one we had looked at last year, but in the last few months there have been a lot of complaints from users online. One of the founders has blogged about this and explained why a backlog came up, causing some issues, which is why we haven't included it in our main list either, but it sounds like they're aiming to get back on track, so it could be worth checking to see what rates it is offering.

Finally, given the prices at which Bitcoin is being traded, we wouldn't recommend this for the most part, but if you're looking for a cash option, try LocalBitcoins. Some people have shared stories of being scammed, so it's definitely not the best idea, but you can trade privately with no paper trail, which might be a selling point for some people.

Hope you Guys understand How to Buy Bitcoins in India. 

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Bitcoin exchanges plan to maintain user database

In the past, both the government and the central bank have cautioned citizens about trading in cryptocurrencies.

New Delhi: Bitcoin exchanges, rattled by the finance minister terming the Cryptocurrency as illegal tender, are planning to create a central repository of users that will help create and maintain a real time record of transactions. 

The purchase data of buyers and sellers of the virtual currency can then be traced through either the Aadhaar ID or the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the user. Details such as the total number of cryptocurrencies held, the value thereof as well as the pattern of buying and selling by individual users will be available through the central repository, according to a top industry member. 

“This is one of the proposals we are planning to submit to the government committee which is looking into the issue of cryptocurrency,” said Ajeet Khurana who heads the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee (BACC) of the Internet and Mobile Association of India. The committee has seven cryptocurrency exchanges as its members. 

Khurana said the BACC aims to submit the proposal to the government committee, which is headed by Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg, during the course of this week. In turn, the government panel is expected to submit its recommendations by March. The government is also expected to appoint a regulator to monitor trade in cryptocurrencies. 

On February 1 while presenting the annual Budget to the Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will eliminate the use of crypto assets in financing illegitimate activities. 

In the past, both the government and the central bank have cautioned citizens about trading in cryptocurrencies. 

The Indian tax authorities have sent out an estimated 100,000 notices to investors asking them to reveal profits earned on cryptocurrency trading and to pay the applicable tax. Industry members estimate that in 2017, trade in bitcoins was worth about ?10,000 crore with around five million Indians actively trading in the cryptocurrency. 

Currently, cryptocurrency exchanges require users to submit both PAN card and the Aadhaar number alongwith bank account details in order to create a trading account. The proceeds from all transactions are credited to the same account. However, as each exchange operates exclusively, this data is not shared. 

“There was ‘panic selling’ for some time (after) FM Jaitley mentioned cryptocurrency (as illegal tender) in his Budget speech. But things have ‘stabilised’ thereafter,” said Nischint Sanghavi, head of bitcoin exchange Zebpay, which follows KYC (Know Your Customer) norms as well as the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations stipulated for the banking sector. 

“We are doing everything to have a self-regulated industry and once data pooling begins, verifying customer details will be faster,” he said. 

The BACC is also planning a “code of conduct” for the industry. “These exchanges don’t deal with cash and will adopt the best practices applicable for the banking industry,” said Khurana. 

Globally, countries like the US and South Korea are also trying to chart out a road map for trade in virtual currencies. Japan was one of the first to introduce regulatory oversight over cryptocurrencies, announcing a new set of regulations in April 2017. 

“Though the government has specified that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender, we hope to present to the government committee that people can still trade in them like they do in ‘stock or gold’,” said Khurana.

Crypto ‘Unlikely To Disappear’, Says Internal Report Attributed To J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan has called cryptocurrencies the “innovative maelstrom” around Blockchain and said they are “unlikely to disappear” in what appears to be an internal report from the company, published Feb. 8, 2018.

In an extract from what is allegedly the banking giant’s executive summary on cryptocurrency, the company appears bullish on crypto’s future.

“Cryptocurrencies are the face of the innovative maelstrom around the Blockchain technology that is bringing both massive price volatility and a constant trial-and-error of new product try-outs and failures,” the report states.

Despite the report’s mixed tone, the distinction from J.P. Morgan’s public position on cryptocurrency over the past six months is palpable.

In September, 2017 J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon became notorious after he called Bitcoin a “fraud,” triggering the very price volatility the bank now cites as a “challenge” crypto assets face.

Dimon subsequently claimed he was “not going to talk about Bitcoin anymore,” while last month publicly disclosing he “regretted” making the fraud comments.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the World Economic Forum in January, 2018, Dimon flatly refuted the idea that he was a “skeptic” on Bitcoin.

The recently published report meanwhile offers ideas as to how cryptocurrencies could be used most effectively.

“CCs [Cryptocurrencies] are unlikely to disappear and could easily survive in varying forms and shapes among players who desire greater decentralization, peer-to-peer networks and anonymity, even as the latter is under threat,” the summary continues in a positive vein.