By Michael Scott

Mumbai-based tech enthusiast Akash Gaurav holds a passionate belief in innovative solutions to pressing business problems. In 2014, he founded a company called Auxesis with the goal of providing best-of-breed solutions through blockchain technology.

Auxesis ranks among the first companies in India to fuel new approaches in the blockchain space. In collaboration with Blockchain Lab and Multichain, the company is pursuing enhanced use cases in the banking, insurance, supply chain management and capital market sectors. Innovations have been developed for remittances, exchanges, insurance claim settlements, cryptocurrency wallets and blockchain explorers over a number of different platforms, including Bitcoin blockchain, Ethereum smart contracts and Hyperledger.

Nasdaq had a chance to talk with Guarav about his personal journey into the tech world, blockchain’s emergence in India, and what he sees on the horizon for 2017 and beyond.

What led you to the world of blockchain?

I started my journey as an entrepreneur during my undergraduate studies at IIT Bombay. As a core member of the Innovation Cell, I began working with the school to build intelligent systems utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence for India’s first autonomous car.

Later I served in various administrative positions, which included web secretary of IIT Bombay and manager of The Entrepreneurship Cell, which is the largest group of its type in Asia. During my tenure, I founded and looked after various initiatives like FCOF and E-Summit, which are some of the best entrepreneurial programs in the world. I was also exploring some technical projects involving Auxesis with my elder brother Kumar Gaurav. I started examining blockchain and became fascinated by its power to unlock many possibilities and by the efficiencies it can bring to different industries. With all of this in mind, I decided to join Auxesis on a full-time basis in September 2015 to accelerate the blockchain movement in India.

Tell us about your innovative trading platform Cashaa.

Cashaa is a Bitcoin trading platform and one of the most innovative projects we have been working on. Auxesis takes care of the research and development required to advance this technology frontier. We started with developing a value proposition for Cashaa’s platform. It was later tested in Asia and attracted more than 10,000 users who traded more than $1.5 million in the first 90 days. After this successful beta test, we moved into developing a full-fledged product for Cashaa, which is expected to launch early this year.

What is the current state of blockchain innovation in India?

When compared globally, blockchain activity in India had been relatively muted for a long time. But now innovation in this space has started buzzing and it is spreading fast. Recently, some banks, supply chain firms and government bodies have shown interest in the technology and have started exploring it. Similarly, 2016 was a good year for some Bitcoin-based startups in India, a trend I believe will continue into the New Year.

Has there been a government response to this?

India has a history of strong support from government for information technology innovation. As a pioneering company, we believe it's our responsibility at Auxesis to ensure that the government is aware of what’s happening and that regulators are listening to us.

Can you discuss some of the broader efforts taking place in India to build a comprehensive blockchain ecosystem?

Creating an ecosystem for an active blockchain community in India is important for accelerating innovation. We have partnered with The Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Bombay, a leading entrepreneurship- promoting body in the country, to make this a reality. With its support, we are organizing many lecture series, workshops and interactive sessions among the top institutes in the country.

We are also partnering with some educational organizations to introduce blockchain as a mainstream course. This is important in terms of ensuring that young students, entrepreneurs and innovators have good exposure to the relatively new technology that’s emerging. Furthermore, we are in talks with many Indian banks and other leading firms to form a consortium for this blockchain frontier.

How has recent news about India's new currency demonetization impacted thinking about Bitcoin and blockchain advancements?

India has a huge economy which runs 90 percent on cash. So, the demonetization move has severely impacted the country’s economy, as 86 percent of the active cash was flushed out at once. This has led to a flourishing digital payment segment in India which feels almost like a revolution. Many digital payments startups, including some Bitcoin startups in India, have increased their volume multifold.

Interestingly, a number of governmental personnel have commented about how issues related to traditional fiat currency could be solved with a blockchain powered digital currency. While it’s a long shot, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if we see a breakthrough soon given this interest.

Any final thoughts on blockchain's global advancement as we begin 2017?

2016, in my opinion, was one of the most important years in the history of Bitcoin and blockchain since the debut of the Bitcoin white paper. We have seen a huge interest in Bitcoin’s underlying technology by non-financial sectors and government bodies, which came as a major surprise. This activity will surely play a role in bringing blockchain into the mainstream not only here in India, but worldwide.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.