Malaysia-based Crypto Company Resumes Trading Operations in India

By Ravindra Chagetha

Unperturbed by the latest circular from RBI banning banks, NBFC’s and payment companies from dealing with entities involved in cryptocurrency trade and the matter being under the purview of the Supreme Court of India, numerous new crypto companies are about to launch their operations in India. Following the trend, Malaysia based cryptocurrency company Belfrics Group has recently restarted its trading operations in India. Belfrics Group had stopped its operations in India in January this year due to discontinuation of payment solutions from banks. Although the group plans to launch more than 20 cryptocurrencies during the next six months, it would initially be resuming its operations with four coins- Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin cash.

Reiterating the importance of India in their operations, Belfrics Group’s COO, Jabeer KM, said that, “India is a key market for us when it comes to crypto trading. With the launch of these new coins, we are targeting a base of at least 2,50,000 new traders on our platform by December 2018.” The group has also introduced a new app for the live trading of various coins in order to support the ambitious crypto-traders with a complete range of functionalities and tools.

Putting forth his views on the app, Santhosh Palavesh, Chief Innovation Officer of the group said, “The traders can now securely link their assets with our Belfrics wallet, which will give them a seamless experience to transfer their cryptocurrencies. The new app will be available for both Android and iOS users.” The group understands that with the new launch, cryptocurrency enthusiasts in India will be able to trade with investors from all over the world, using the trading options on the platform provided by them.

Earlier, in the month of April, the Reserve Bank of India said that neither would it be dealing with nor would be providing any services to entities involved with the trading of cryptocurrencies. RBI had issued directions to all banks to end their dealings with companies as well as individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies.

BP Kanungo, Deputy Governor RBI, expressed his suspicions that if cryptocurrencies rise beyond a particular limit, it might lead to financial instability. In a press release, RBI had stated that due to the inherent risks, with immediate effect it has been decided that entities which are regulated by the RBI will not be providing any services to businesses or customers dealing with virtual currencies.

Various cryptocurrency firms, investors, and traders have approached the Supreme Court against the latest circular from the RBI. Supreme Court has clubbed all these applications filed in multiple courts and has refused to put any stay on the RBI circular till the matter is sub-judice.

Adding on his previous comments, Jabeer further added that, “We understand that the RBI has reservations on trading in cryptocurrencies and digital currencies. But we are confident that they will be coming up with their own set of regulations for this industry. From our end, we are making sure that Belfrics Group is ready with multiple options for our Indian customers when crypto trading becomes regularized.”

Despite the circular from the RBI, a large number of cryptocurrency exchanges are still functioning in India, and the total count is bound to increase in the near future. But as the deadline is looming near, few cryptocurrency exchanges such a Zebpay are already notifying their users that the rupee to crypto transfer facility can be stopped any time after that day.