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Cryptocurrency and blockchain trends are everywhere right now. The tsunami of ICOs continues flooding every cryptocurrency investor’s browser. In India, though, Initial Coin Offering investments are still at a preamble level. You see, when it comes to money, citizens of India are wired to save more and spend less. They prefer to invest in sovereign promise like gold or land. Indians prefer fixed deposits to equities and investing in equities is considered as gambling.
Investing in crypto world, including currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, is risky indeed. Those currencies are virtual, volatile, intangible and very risky with no real sovereign promise of any returns. ICOs are a significant part of these kinds of concerns.
Every cryptocurrency is blockchain, but not every blockchain is cryptocurrency. This way, with a wave of digitization in India, blockchain can emerge as a new hero on the Indian scene. So, the positive focus on blockchain as a technology itself is redeeming. ICO is the most straightforward way for a company that develops a blockchain technology to raise funds.
However, to regulate ICOs in India, there are lots of regulatory challenges as well. First of all, based on ICO nature, tokens could be classified as securities, or a currency, or a payment system or even as intangible property. Besides, crypto-tokens may require coordination among the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Reserve Bank of India and other sectoral regulators for proper, effective oversight.
This lack of clarity about cryptos in India has led to companies raising funds for their projects in other markets. US, Europe, other parts of Asia, you name it. Indian companies have to compete with global companies to raise funds right now. And this requires a lot of marketing with an understanding of other regions peculiarities.
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