BITCOIN
BITCOIN
All about the Cryptocurrency you want to know
Bitcoin Exchanges in India
BITCOIN PRICES IN INDIA
BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES
WHAT IS BITCOIN ? and how does it work ?
A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure the transaction , to control creation of additional units and verify the transfer of assets . They are also called digital currencies , alternative currencies and virtual currency . Cryptography is practice and use of techniques to secure communications .
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system . It is the first decentralized digital currency without the control of any central bank or any single administrator . Transactions under Bitcoin take places directly between the users without an intermediary using cryptography and the transactions are recorded in a public distributed ledger called Blockchain . The payments can be made by any one to any one worldwide .
The bitcoin system seeks no permission from any central bank or any government and is used world over . It requires no ID to use . It can be used 24x7 365 days and transactions are fast and irreversible . Total of 21 million bitcoins will ever exist as per the system . Bitcoins are supposed to be safe and secure if you keep your private key of bitcoin safe and hidden .
Bitcoin was invented in 2009 by an unknown person or group of people called Satoshi Nakamoto and distributed as an open-source software .
Bitcoin can be exchanged with other currencies , service , goods . It is reported that more than 100,000 merchants and vendors are accepting bitcoin for payment .
HOW BITCOINS ARE MINED ?
Bitcoin is created as a reward for process called "Mining " . Mining is a record keeping service done through computer processing power .
Bitcoin mining is the process of updating the ledger of Bitcoin transactions known as the blockchain. Mining is done by running extremely powerful computers (known as ASICs ) that race against other miners in an attempt to guess a specific number.
Bitcoin mining is performed by high-powered computers ASICs that solve complex computational math problems which cannot be solved by hand and are complicated enough to tax even incredibly powerful computers.
If one sends bitcoin to another account , it's called a transaction. Normal financial transactions made in-store or online are documented by banks, point-of-sale systems, and receipts. Bitcoin miners achieve the same thing by clumping transactions together in “blocks” by adding them to a public record called the “blockchain.” Records of blockchain are maintained so that they can be verified into the future. These record keeping is done by Miners .
What is the reward for Mining or Record Keeping ?
As compensation for their efforts, miners are awarded bitcoin when they add a new block of transactions to the blockchain. New bitcoin released with each mined block is called the "block reward." The block reward for the miners given now is BTC 6.25 .
The issue of new BTCs will continue till total number of Bitcoins reach 21 million numbers , which is expected to reach by 2140 .
To know more about Bitcoin mining , you may watch the youTube presentation at the end of the page
WHAT IS BITCOIN HALVING ?
The reward given to miners are reduced by half after every 210,000 blocks mined in about every four years. This makes addition of new bitcoins are reduced by half every four years .
In 2009, Reward was BTC 50, 25 In 2013 . It was BTC 12.5 and Now a miner gets just BTC 6.25 from May 2020 .
The system of awarding BTC for the efforts of miners and halving the new BTC issued every four years will continue till the year 2140 . Afterwards , miners will no longer get new BTC a reward . However they will get transaction fee collected from the users .
BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTO CURRENCIES PRICE NOW - BTC TO USD
Cryptocurrency and Bitcoins prices provided by third party provider COINLIB .
BITCOINS CURRENT VALUE
BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES PRICES IN INDIAN RUPEES NOW -BTC TO INR
BITCOIN PRICES IN INDIAN CURRENCY INDIAN RUPEES
Bitcoins in India :
How to buy a Bitcoin in India ?
First one has to register with a Bitcoin exchange by furnishing personal details with one of the Bitcoin exchanges in India . After registering with an exchange , one can get a Bitcoin wallet and buy / sell using the account .
Note : Though supreme court has lifted the ban imposed by RBI on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies , Government of india and RBI are yet to come out with clear guidelines on the issue . Hence any future adverse law that may come in to force and adversely affect your bitcoin wallets .
BITCOIN / CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES IN INDIA
CoinSwitch Kuber : Latest Exchange operating in India
Dated 05.10.2021 : It is reported a 15 months old Cryptocurrency exchange namely " Coinswitch kuber " which deals exclusively for Indians has garnered more than 10 million customers registered in their Apps . It started its operations in India in June 2020 . the Kuber App is available both on Android and Apple . One can open account with kuber for just Rs 100 .
The company was founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni and Vimal Sagar as a global aggregator of cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinSwitch Kuber started India operations in June last year as a crypto trading platform and exchange. Coinswitch is reported to be financially backed by Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital India and Ribbit Capital .
It is surprising that cryptocurrency exchanges are rapidly growing in India in spite of legal uncertainty over the Government / RBI stand on the continuation of their operations . As the Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are traded at higher and higher values , the exchanges are attracting more and more retail customers .
BITCOIN EXCHANGES IN INDIA
Dated 12.05 .2020 : After Supreme court of India lifted the ban in March 2020 imposed by Reserve Bank of India in 2018 on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency Trading in India , many Bitcoin Exchanges have become active in India . The recent surge in bitcoin prices also have added push to such activities . Now BTC is trading around 1 BTC = Rs 6.50 lakhs ( IBTC = USD 9,500 ) . Some of the Bitcoin exchanges being frequented by Indians are
1. . Zebpay
2. BuyUcoin
3. Unocoin
4. Bitxoxo
5. Coinbase
But Reserve Bank of India is yet to come up with rules , regulation and banking support terms with regard to cryptocurrencies and their operations in India . Government of India is yet to come up with taxation laws , guidelines with regard to cryptocurrencies .
Till such laws & regulation come in to force , Bitcoins will be considered as grey areas by the Indians .
How to register with a Bitcoin Exchange ?
1. Go to a Bitcoin exchange website
2. Provide your Mobile number , your name , e-mail address and a PIN as directed in the Registration box .
3. A verification code will be sent to your mobile .
4. Complete the registration by entering the verification code .
5. Before activating , you need to complete KYC formalities :
6. You have to provide the following details by uploading relevant documents :
a. Nationality
b. ID Proof
c . Address Proof
d. Declaration regarding source of funds and occupation
UNITS OF BITCOIN :
An unit of currency under Bitcoin system is also called a BITCOIN . The tickers in currency trading systems use code of XBT and ticker symbol of BTC . Smaller units of Bitcoins are millibitcoins and satoshi . Millibitcoin is 0.001 bitcoin and denoted as mBTC . Satoshi ( STC ) is smallest unit in bitcoin system with a value of 0.00000001 bitcoin .
BITCOIN AND BITCOIN CASH :
In 2017 , with differing view on Bitcoin fundamentals , Bitcoin developing groups split in to various distinct subgroups and split currency also in to various versions . The two prominent new groups are BITCOIN CASH chain and SEGWIT chain . All are having their own market price , mining network and transaction history . While Bitcoin has ticker code of BTC , Bitcoin cash has ticker code of BCH , Segwit has ticker codes of SW1, SW2 and SWG . As each one has separate developers , trading codes and values and market prices , one should be careful to know which one is being transacted .
BITCOIN WALLETS :
Bitcoins are used as a wallet money . Bitcoin Wallet is a software which can be used to carry information on your Bitcoin transactions and hold your bitcoins . Bitcoin wallets are used to receive and spend Bitcoins / satoshis . There are various vendors of these wallets with varying qualities and security features . Depending up on the security need , different wallets provide different levels of security . Bitcoin wallets are available five ways which can be used 1. Desk Top 2. Mobiles 3. Hardware 4. Web and 5 . Paper wallets
1 . DESKTOP WALLETS
It is a software wallet stored on the hard disk of your computer . If you store bitcoins in your hardware , make sure that you have a back up your wallet regularly . In case your computer crashes or gets corrupted , you may lose your wallet and all the bitcoins stored there .
There are various Desktop software providers for desktop wallet and for list of such vendors , CLICK HERE
2. MOBLE WALLETS
Desktops do not offer mobility and hence Mobile wallets have come in to existence . You carry mobile and hence you can do transaction wherever you are . Some software provide NFC (Near Field Communication ) which help you to receive Bitcoins without entering any field . However memory constraints of a mobile phone may lead to limiting use of the applications . You can install applications and various softwares are available for different types of mobiles .
For list of software for Android Phones , CLICK HERE and For i-phones CLICK HERE
3. HARDWARE WALLETS
There are gadgets to store private keys of your Bitcoins and they are less prone to web attack and do not depend up on third parties for storage . Number of such gadgets available are limited . For a list of such vendors , CLICK HERE
Now even Amazon India is selling such hard wares like Ledger Nano , Yubikey on their websites .
4 WEB WALLETS
Web based wallets keep your private keys on-line on a computer controlled by others and connected to the internet . Many such services are available on line and some of them link your desk top wallet or mobile wallet to them so that they serve as back up for other wallets . The advantage is you can transact on any device , but with a risk of your wallet in sombody else's hand .
Many Bitcoin exchanges also provide on-line wallets to their clients . There are many websites offering the service to you like coinbase , Circle , blockchain , Xapo
5. PAPER WALLETS
Paper wallets are the wallets you can print on a paper from your computer . There are various service providers who help you to generate your paper wallet on their site . For example Bitaddress.org . You can generate private keys on the site and the site will provide 2 QR codes for your wallets one for receipt and the other for payment . Then select paper wallet tab and select the number of wallets required and print the wallet generated .
BITCOIN EXCHANGES IN INDIA :
Bitcoin Exchanges are the places where one can buy , sell and transfer bitcoins against other currencies . They also provide Bitcoin wallets to store the Bitcoins purchased and transact Bitcoins . There are various exchanges available worldwide and some specialize transacting in specific countries . These exchanges provide services for opening accounts / wallets , purchase against specific currencies , transfer Bitcoins , sell and transfer to the bank accounts held by the customers . They charge fees for the services rendered and charges vary from exchange to exchange . Further the quality and range of services also vary . There are many cryptocurrency exchanges in India now . Some of them are
1. WAZIRX
2. UNOCOIN
3. BINANCE
4. Zebpay
5. COINDCX
6. COINSWITCH KUBER
( To go to their websites , click on their names )
Note : We have not independently verified the reliability of the above exchanges . Readers are cautioned to take precautions before making any relationship with them )
Bitcoin can be bought through an Exchange , through other sellers or by accepting them in exchange for services rendered or goods sold . Then Bitcoins will be stored in a Bitcoin wallet from where you can make payment of Bitcoins to others . Before buying a Bitcoin , you have to have a Bitcoin wallet . In India to have a wallet and trade in an Exchange , one is asked to provide following to the exchanges .
1 . Mobile Number
2. PAN Number
3 . Aadhaar Number
4 . Bank account Details including a/c no and IFSC Code
HOW BITCOINS ARE USED ?
Bitcoin is used just like a foreign currency to hold , to make payment to others accepting them for the services rendered or goods sold and also as an investment . It is reported that more than 100,000 entities world over are accepting Bitcoins and some prominent companies that are included are Microsoft , Subway , Wordpress , Reddit , Bloomberg etc . Only Japan has recognized as an recognized money .
Bitcoin pricing and volatility :
Currencies issued by central banks normally backed by reserves with implied lawful guarantee of respective governments . It also would be administered by central banks with sets of laws , rules and regulations . In case of Bitcoins , none of these parameters are met with . Actually Bitcoins have neither administrators nor reserves to back them up . The value of the currency is as discovered by the market day in and day out . The value so obtained from market are volatile and prone to quick appreciation and depreciation . As Bitcoin holding is mostly speculative , the values change abruptly based on demand and supply , without any underlying reason .
From 2010 till now prices of Bitcoin have changed from USD 0.06 per BTC in July 2010 to USD 14,192 now and the rise is astronomical 236,533 % . Now Bitcoins had reached a new high of USD 69, 000 . The rise is not uniform through the period and are volatile through out . In 2011 , Bitcoin had reached USD 250 from USD 0.30 levels to come back to USD 2 levels . In 2013 , prices rose to USD 250 before falling to USD 50 . In 2017 , prices have fluctuated from USD900 to USD 19,000 . In 2021 , prices fluctuated between USD29,000 and USD 69,000 .
Price charts are available at coindesk .com
BEWARE OF RISKS WITH BITCOINS AND BITCOIN WALLETS :
BITCOINS
Bitcoin is a nascent form of currency and still under experimental stage . There are no regulators for the currency . Governments have not given sanctions for trading or holding them . Legal sanctity in most of the countries are yet to be tested . Prices are volatile and prone to huge losses . We are not sure of quality , reliability or financial ability of exchanges and the wallet providers . In case of fraud or theft of bitcoins , it is very difficult to recover , almost no chance of its recovery . Bitcoins are issued without backup of any asset . Hence in the absence of market , total money invested will be lost . Some people compare it to a ponzi scheme or sophisticated fraud .
BITCOIN WALLETS
They are holders of the Bitcoin we have and in the computer systems provided by third parties . Key to the wallets is Private keys provided at the start of the account . If we lose those keys , we have no recourse to account and entire amount stored may be lost . Further damage to computers holding wallets , loss/ theft of mobiles or losing password and such other circumstances will rob us of the Bitcoins stored . There are reports of hacking of computer systems and theft of Bitcoins from them . If any of our service providers like exchanges or wallet providers go bust or if they don't do their ethical duties , risk of losing entire investment cannot be ruled out .
Whether Bitcoin legal in India ?
SUPREME COURT QUASHES RBI BAN ON BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS
Dated 04.03.2020 : Today , the Supreme court of India , disposing of a writ petition filed by Internet and Mobile Association of India lifted the ban imposed by Reserve Bank of India in 2018 on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency Trading in India .
RBI had in 2018 prohibited all the entities like Banks , NBFCs , Payment Banks , wallets regulated by them to deal with or provide any service related to transactions involving Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies .
Presently there is no regulation or law passed with reference to Bitcoins in India . Hence it is not clear whether Bitcoin is legal in India . However it has not been made illegal too so far . Absence of a legal framework is a hindrance for the development and growth of Bitcoins in India . Hence some of the Bitcoin Exchanges , wallet providers have joined together to form an association called "Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India " and have requested the government to officially legalize Bitcoin . They have also proposed a self regulation of the industry in their suggestion paper published in google documents .
Question of Legality is not only limited to India as many countries have not taken a stand on the legality or otherwise of Bitcoins .
Each country has its own set of guidelines . As the crypto currency is in its nascent stage , it may take some time to clear the situation and a legal frame work is formed all over the world .
OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES :
Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency traded and there are various similar currencies available in the market . Many times same exchanges and wallet providers provide various other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash , Ethereum , Litecoin , Omisego , Qtum , Ripple , Namecoin , swiftcoin etc . Each of the currency has its own software , mining , users , exchanges and values . List of such coins is given in wikipedia , which they say incomplete . As days go on , we expect more and more software to join the bandwagon . However Bitcoin continues to be most popular among the lot .