NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

It's still too early to throw away your credit card, but bitcoins are making inroads in India as a mode of payment. India currently has around 50,000 bitcoin enthusiasts, with 30,000 of them actually owning the currency. With increasing ease of using them for purchases through mobile apps, bitcoins are quickly transitioning from being trading units to shopping currency.

Just a year ago, bitcoin owners in the country had few avenues for using the currency. Since the crypto-currency is technology driven, sellers need to have platforms to accept it. This is where things have changed in recent times. Unocoin, an Indian bitcoin exchange, has launched a 'merchant gateway' which enables business entities to accept bitcoins. Sellers like Sapna Book House, bus ticket booking portal eTravelSmart, Dharwad International School, fashion portal Fashiondiva.me, and internet platform service provider Indsoft.net are among those who have signed up and are now accepting bitcoins from their customers. Coinsecure, another Indian bitcoin exchange, is likely to introduce a merchant gateway in the coming months.