Indian Entrepreneurs Rush to Launch Crypto Companies Following Bitcoin Boom

Despite the government ramping up regulatory measures for bitcoin traders and exchanges, Indian entrepreneurs are rushing to set up companies with bitcoin or cryptocurrency-related words in their names.

Also read: South Korea Clarifies Position After Reports of Possible Ban on All Crypto Transactions

Capitalizing on Crypto

Indian entrepreneurs have been rushing to register businesses with the word “bitcoin”, “crypto”, or “coin” in their names, Tech Observer reported on Tuesday. The publication elaborated:

[A] large number of Indian entrepreneurs from Ghaziabad to Kanpur, to Darjeeling, to Jaipur, to Delhi, to Ahmedabad, [and] to Mumbai are rushing to set up companies to cash in on bitcoin.

According to the news outlet, there are at least a dozen companies that have already been registered across the country with the word “bitcoin” as part of their business names, and a large number of applications are still pending at the Indian Registrars of Companies.

There are even more businesses registered with the word “crypto” in their names, and several others are adding prefixes to the word “coin,” such as Indicoin, Bharatcoin, and Swachhcoin, the news outlet also detailed.

The filings for these new companies show a wide range of business activities such as the retail trade of personal household goods, financial intermediation, and investigative journalism. Some are also planning initial coin offerings (ICOs), the publication noted, adding that:

Several officials from the auditing and accountancy fields also said many listed companies are looking into changes in their names and ‘articles of association’ to include ‘bitcoin’ or other cryptocurrencies to join the bandwagon.

Based on the Registrars’ data, “the registered entities include Bitcoin Bazaar, Bitcoin Exchange, Bitcoin Finconsultants, Bitcoin India Software Services, Bitcoin Services India, Bitcoiners India, Bitcoins India and Bit Coin Infotech,” the Millennium Post reported. Other names include “Crypto Advisors, Crypto Futuristic Trades, Crypto Infotech, Crypto IT Services, Crypto Labs, Crypto Mining, Crypto Yo Coin India, Cryptocoin Solutions and Cryptomudra Digital Services.”

Crypto Craze Grows Despite Regulators’ Warnings

India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley has repeatedly said that the government does not recognize bitcoin as legal tender. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has so far issued three notices related to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, warning investors and citizens of the risks involved with using them.

Earlier this month, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Indian government sending notices to wealthy bitcoin traders, informing them that they will have to pay capital gains tax. The notices followed on-site searches by the Indian tax department at nine of the country’s top bitcoin exchanges.

Meanwhile, as bitcoin’s price has risen worldwide recently, Indian bitcoin exchanges have reported a flood of requests and new user registrations, news.Bitcoin.com also reported. “Every three months our bitcoin trade volumes have been doubling, and that trend is continuing — The price movements have helped in the volume increase,” Saurabh Agrawal of Zebpay revealed. Tech Observer wrote:

The mad rush of entrepreneurs and investors seem to be continuing despite repeated regulatory warnings about bitcoin and its various alternatives.

Do you think that all this activity will spur the Indian government to regulate bitcoin even sooner? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Hindu.

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