Experts divided over Bitcoin’s unregulated promises of wealth

Meenal Shah, a risk advisor says, “I began investing in bitcoins since August 2016 after consulting with my financial advisor. I invested about Rs 1 lakh of which Rs 40,000 was in the mining industry and Rs 60,000 in speculative investment. Now, I have tripled my inputs.”

Another investor says he started buying bitcoin to get access to regulated drugs. “Earlier it was not a popular investment option in India. Many internet users used it to buy regulated drugs online as it was a safe transaction. Then, the soaring value had people taking it seriously,” he says, adding the value of his investment multiplied ten times in three years. 

The value of one bitcoin in March 2017 was Rs 75,000 and now it is Rs 9.5 lakh. But the value keeps fluctuating. Bitcoin is nothing but a virtual currency within a payment system. It is a decentralised digital currency invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. 

“Transactions are verified by network nodes and are recorded in a public distributed ledger called the blockchain, which is similar to a ledger that a bank would maintain to record all transactions of their customers,” explains Balaji Ilamparuthi, an entrepreneur and community developer for an altcoin named Deus coin. He adds, “Once you have a Bitcoin wallet, you use a traditional payment method such as credit card, bank transfer (ACH), or debit card to buy Bitcoins on a Bitcoin exchange. The Bitcoins are then transferred to your wallet.”

On trading, he says, “You can now sell Bitcoins for a min of Rs 1,000 and a max of Rs 1,00,000 per transaction (up to a max of Rs 3,00,000 per month). The buying limit remains the same. You can buy Bitcoins for a min of Rs 100 and a max of Rs 1,00,000 per transaction (with a max of Rs 10,00,000 per month).” 

But some experts perceive it to be more than a bubble. “The value is only constantly increasing and if there is a bubble, it will burst only after 100 years. With more number of transactions happening digitally, it is here to stay,” sums up Balaji.