The Crypto-Mania

CryptoCurrency – Guess the hottest topic not only among investors but in popular culture too, thanks to everyone from long-standing investors like Elon Musk to that kid from your high school on Facebook.  

In fact recently I was watching #T20WorldCup2021  on HotStar, and the crypto universe has taken over nearly all ad spots. 

But when I heard Crypto  to me this was like a visual of Binary language! Literally no exaggerations 🙂 and what really struck was ‘CURRENCY’ 

So to the ones who are still grappling like me, maybe would enjoy this quick read!

The question which we must now ask ourselves:

whatever we call it, do cryptocurrencies really deserve this much attention. Should we care this much? What will the impact of crypto be in the long term? Because despite the ambiguity around cryptocurrency regulations in India, virtual currencies are fast gaining popularity in the country as a form of payment.

From the food and beverages industry to home decor, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have crept into mainstream transactions, albeit in a small way.

Should we not know who these people are? who have already started using it… surprisingly I found quite a few listing some of them here, the following who are using crypto currencies!

Suryawanshi Restaurants – Famous for restaurants in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar and Whitefield.

https://www.sapnaonline.com/ – From books to personal hygiene goods, Sapna is an online platform that allows you to buy items using Bitcoins, enabled by the Unocoin cryptocurrency exchange.

According to HighKart.com, the integration of Bitcoin Payment makes it easier for customers to purchase their products. Mobile phones, cameras, clothing, gadgets, laptops, and crypto mining equipment are just a few of the products available in the store.

The most talked about Cadbury 5 Star wants you to mine ‘NothingCoins’ by doing nothing; use them to buy goods or exchange them for JioMart vouchers. Anyway, what’s more interesting is the fact that NothingCoins has a bank as well where you actually do not do anything. 

WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber may have to put up bigger disclaimers on their television ads.

In recent news, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would accept bitcoin as a form of payment for all models of its cars in the US. In addition, Twitter will also invest 500 bitcoins to develop the currency in India and Africa.

PayPal announced in October 2020 that users can buy, sell, and hold selective cryptocurrencies through their Cash or Cash Plus accounts starting in 2021

Although Amazon does not directly permit bitcoin as a valid payment method, you can buy Amazon vouchers and gift cards through Bitrefill. This is a crypto-only company that authorizes users to top up subscription-based services, and then spend them on Amazon. 

Bitrefill, a Sweden based company lets you buy gift cards and top up prepaid mobile phones with Bitcoin! And today they are not just having amazon but also flipkart, makemytrip, swiggy, bigbasket, Taj Hotels to name a few. They are actively running ads online.

Should we care this much? What will the impact of crypto be in the long term? 

What I believe is that The word ‘CURRENCY’ is playing the Game (Paisa Bolta hai!) 

There are many theories about the origin of money, in part because money has many functions: 

Coinage as commodity money owes its success largely to its portability, durability, transportability and inherent value. Additionally, political leaders could control the production of coins – from mining, smelting, minting – as well as their circulation and use. So today, Money is an instrument of political control. 

There are an estimated 15 million to 20 million cryptocurrency investors in India, with total crypto holdings of around Rs 40,000 crore, according to industry estimates. There is no official data available on cryptocurrency holdings and the user base.

The cryptocurrency bill, to be introduced in the winter session of the Parliament is likely to prohibit all the private cryptocurrencies in India, with certain exceptions. The exceptions are intended to promote the underlying technology – Blockchain – and its uses.

My Take:

It will be good to see if the government treats crypto as an asset class and not as a currency. This will also give the government an opportunity to get tax returns on crypto assets. 

Coming from an advertising industry how a company’s branding can play an oversized role in how it is perceived by investors.

The fact that brands see value in jumping onto the cryptocurrency trend shows that there is real potential in the cryptocurrency market, but it also highlights the considerable challenges.  

Cryptocurrencies will likely be around for a while (the recent “cryptocurrency bloodbath” notwithstanding) and it’s important that people and companies understand the implications of branding. This is brand new technology which has already illustrated its ability to fundamentally disrupt the global financial system. But it isn’t perfect by any stretch.

So it’s perfect to say…

‘investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully’
or
‘Yaatri apne saman ki suraksha swaeem karein, aap technology world mein ho