In 2018, the RBI had put a blanket ban on trading in cryptocurrency. However, the order was set aside by the Supreme Court in March this year.
After several weeks of trading in narrow ranges, bitcoin breached $10,000-mark on July 27 for the first time since early June. In addition to suffering pricing blows due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, the virtual currency went through its third so-called halving on May 11, which cut the rewards given to those who “mine” bitcoin to 6.25 new coins from 12.5. In 2018, the RBI had put a blanket ban on trading in cryptocurrency. However, the order was set aside by the Supreme Court this year in March. Here is a list of exchanges that allow trading in cryptocurrencies:
WazirX | The exchange is operated by Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. WazirX has gained traction among Indian investors for its easy-to-use interface and low-cost structure (0.2 percent), however, it has an orderbook that some new users may find hard to use.
Coinmama | One of the leading cryptocurrency exchange platforms, Coinmama allows customers in almost every country to buy or sell bitcoin. It also offers one of the highest limits for buying bitcoins with a credit card, though the fee is slightly higher at 4.9-5.9 percent (depending on the volume) on each purchase.
LocalBitcoins | This peer-to-peer exchange allows people from different countries to exchange their local currencies for bitcoins. Users post advertisements on the exchange stating their rate and preferred payment method for buying or selling bitcoins. By replying to these advertisements, a trade is opened and escrow protection is automatically activated. Escrow protects both buyer and seller by keeping the bitcoins safe until the payment is done and the seller releases bitcoins to the buyer. Bitcoins are placed in LocalBitcoins web wallet from where one can pay for their bitcoin purchases directly. However, investors need to be careful, as they are dealing directly with other people, unlike other stock-like exchanges or centralised bitcoin trading sites.
Kraken | Founded in 2011, this US-based cryptocurrency exchange is now available in most countries. Deposits can be made via bank wire, SEPA, ACH and SWIFT. The brokerage charged by Kraken is one of the lowest in the industry. Taker fee (order taker) is 0.25 percent and can fall as low as 0.1 percent with sufficient trading volume. Meanwhile, maker fee (order maker) can be nil with sufficient trading volumes.
Unocoin | One of the leading exchanges in India, Unocoin serves a customer base of over a million. It is a member of NASSCOM and has featured among the Top 20 out of 350 companies in The FinTech 20: India list. Users are also given a chance to earn free bitcoin by referring the exchange to friends and family.
ZebPay | The exchange relaunched its app in India in January 2020. Users can buy and sell cryptocurrencies across 130 countries, with zero trading fees. Zebpay’s app facilitates trading in Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, EOS, and several other cryptocurrencies. Users can also access crypto-to-Euro and crypto-to-Australian Dollar trading.
CoinSwitch Kuber | Apart from a plethora of facilities it provides to customers similar to other crypto exchanges, CoinSwitch Kuber allows users to buy cryptocurrencies with a credit card at an effective price. Funded by Sequoia Capital, the exchange allows users to access the pooled liquidity of the leading exchanges in India to get the best rate and trade instantaneously.
First Published on Jul 27, 2020 12:21 pm