India is Paying $900+ for Bitcoin Amid Cash Crisis

[neochiny]

I really don't understand it what's the point of buying it at a high price. As soon things starts getting better price will crash. Secondly don't you need documents to buy it that will be linked with income tax, so what's sense of buying it or they are buying without the documents? This is a blind move and it shall not be good. People stay away at such prices

its can be that for them it's more hard to acquire bitcoin outside of their country so they are forced to pay more to have one, but this is good because it will force a market movement toward their value, they will help the market growth

And, it could also be that most would still prefer to buy from their local exchanges despite the high premium. I saw this on another thread:

Let say a coin a listed in poloniex and bittrex, it will have some difference in price, why is that? demand and supply is the answer. And I am an Indian staying in Kerala. I have to say that Indian exchanges and sites like unocoin and zebpay charges more as than other international sites.

I would prefer buying from unocoin or zebpay as they are set up in India and I can get a refund if things go wrong for some reasons. I may able to do so in any other sites which are based abroad, but I trust these Indian sites more. I believe Zebpay and Unocoin are registered in India and they do fall under the Indian jurisdiction which makes any Indian buyer or seller of bitcoins confident.

Another reason that could add to the very high demand could be that some are dumping their stash of 500/1000 rupees(black money) and change it to bitcoins. Same as some are buying gold. This way they'd avoid having to go the banks and 'legally' change their bills. (and possibly get caught/taxed especially if funds are undeclared)

[Milkduds]

India seems to be the new flavor of the moment when it comes to bitcoin related articles.
As a outsider the optics seem to appear like India is quickly pushing for more transparent banking and wanting to push a few issues all at the same time,creating havoc and the look like potential restrictions coming down the pipe.

The problem I have with this story is it seems to be a hype article pointing to the price and a new flavor that people are watching for bitcoin manipulation. It
used to be China but looks like India is picking up steam as they look to make some big alterations to the country. Honestly think India is a amazing Country
to have so many things related bubbling at the same time.

Going back to when China had similar moves like mentioned here in the responses,I recall people getting caught off guard and having funds locked in Chinese exchanges. So before you go wading into the Indian markets make sure you are able to handle a potential issue like that and not get caught with all your cookies in one jar.

[sportis]

        This not strange. In times of economic crisis and also when the inflation of fiat currency is intense people are directed elsewhere in order to protect their savings. (eg gold). Nowadays is much more safe, quick and anonymous to buy not only bitcoins but and altcoins such as litecoins and ethereum instead of bank notes.

[neochiny]

India seems to be the new flavor of the moment when it comes to bitcoin related articles.
As a outsider the optics seem to appear like India is quickly pushing for more transparent banking and wanting to push a few issues all at the same time,creating havoc and the look like potential restrictions coming down the pipe.

The problem I have with this story is it seems to be a hype article pointing to the price and a new flavor that people are watching for bitcoin manipulation. It
used to be China but looks like India is picking up steam as they look to make some big alterations to the country. Honestly think India is a amazing Country
to have so many things related bubbling at the same time.

Going back to when China had similar moves like mentioned here in the responses,I recall people getting caught off guard and having funds locked in Chinese exchanges. So before you go wading into the Indian markets make sure you are able to handle a potential issue like that and not get caught with all your cookies in one jar.

Haha. I don't know,   I think a huge margin of the market  is held by the two local exchanges.

Unocoin and Zebpay which are registered and are somehow licensed by the government since there is a government-levied tax on every transaction. (Do you know, one can't make an account without a PAN Card[Permanent Account Number]   )

This, in turn, makes the users trust the two since users are assured they don't get scammed plus the possibility of refunds in certain cases.
These would really cut into the transactions/trades with international exchanges since most would opt for premium rates than risk getting scammed.
So, personally, I don't see that great of a chance for arbitrage/market speculation. But, well, who knows for sure.
Coz I certainly don't.  

[countryfree]

$900? How many rupees does that make? Is that when paying with those banknotes the government has said they're now worthless, unless changed at an offical bank with tough AML requirements?

I guess all cryptocurrencies and all foreign currencies are much wanted anywhere in India, with many buyers willing to pay much more than what they're worth, if that helps them getting rid of old worthless banknotes.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

What's this all about I have many friends who deals 24 hours with bitcoin but none of them had heard about this. Well anyone explain me who is paying and why they are paying $900. Is there any logical game behind this .

Yeah, this all seems kinda strange to me too.  I don't know why anyone would need or want to pay more than market rate for bitcoin except for purposes of staying extremely anonymous or something.  Don't know if that even would make sense.  If this is true, those arbitrage opportunities aren't going to last long.  Smart traders will plug up all the holes--they always do.

[MingLee]

India is Paying $900+ for Bitcoin Amid Cash Crisis

https://news.bitcoin.com/india-paying-900-bitcoin-cash-crisis/

What do you think about this?

It's weird to be honest, surprising to think that they're just freaking out over some banknotes being discontinued.

I can see it being an issue if even banks are no longer accepting the banknotes that are going to be going out of circulation, but I would expect better from the government and I believe that they would maintain their value until the bill takes affect.

[lottery248]

ARBITRAGE

convert rupee to USD via conventional methods.
but bitcoin with USD, sell it to rupee

profit

convert rupee to USD via conventional methods.
but bitcoin with USD, sell it to rupee

profit

rinse and repeat

if the cycle fails, no profits to anyone at all.

i guess the demolished 500 and 1000s could be still avaliable in India as collectible currency. to bitcoin, it is surely because they don't need to worry about the period of when their banknote will be demonetized once again. tax heaven to them.

[The_Dark_Knight]

I really don't understand it what's the point of buying it at a high price. As soon things starts getting better price will crash. Secondly don't you need documents to buy it that will be linked with income tax, so what's sense of buying it or they are buying without the documents? This is a blind move and it shall not be good. People stay away at such prices

I think they may be buying in order to protect the value of their savings so even if they are paying a premium and even if the price was going to get lower they are willing to pay that high price so they can get out of their currency.

[Wind_FURY]

India is Paying $900+ for Bitcoin Amid Cash Crisis

https://news.bitcoin.com/india-paying-900-bitcoin-cash-crisis/

What do you think about this?

I have 2 questions for this. How and where are they buying the $900 per Bitcoin from? Who is scamming them into buying Bitcoin for that high of a price?

I believe some people over at India are taking advantage of the people's desperate situation and their ignorance. This is not good news to me because it really does not bring anything to Bitcoin except for another case of people scamming other people story.

[romero121]

Now as the cash deposit has got lots of restrictions in banking with limitations, people might have planned to convert their fiat and make it secure in the form of digital assets. On this base I believe the pricing might have crossed $900+, which looks to have 30%+ profit margin.

[OROBTC]

ARBITRAGE

convert rupee to USD via conventional methods.
but bitcoin with USD, sell it to rupee

profit

convert rupee to USD via conventional methods.
but bitcoin with USD, sell it to rupee

profit

rinse and repeat

India has very strange laws on foreign exchange that may explain part of the very high price premium for BTC vs. the world price.

It is cumbersome to exchange rupees for dollars.  Gold is expensive there (I know, I bought 10 grams there once).  Were I a merchant in India I would prefer to have BTC rather than rupees.  For me to give up my Bitcoin, they would have to pay me ($150 over "spot" (so, $900) seems about right).  I saw NO obvious opportunities for arbitraging gold or BTC when there (a year ago), and I was looking...

India and China do not have all that much in common as one would think.  China has a modern & "go-get-'em" mentality, India is still stuck in ignorance and superstition outside of their cities.  Modi has provided a good example of incompetence in India...

[pooya87]

how is this even possible?
i mean i can see a small price different like $800-820 but $900 is still pretty high it is $160 difference, and my surprise is because this creates a huge arbitrage opportunity and how come nobody has taken this opportunity to make a lot of money yet?

When this happened with China a few months back it pulled the price of bitcoin up in the rest of the global market because of the obvious arbitrage opportunities. Looks like the same thing will happen with India. I would expect the effect to be more modest because India is presumably a smaller player in the bitcoin ecosystem, but if the underlying cause is more dramatic and sustained that could be wrong.

I recall hearing once that India is disproportionately a buyer/hoarder of gold, all things considered. I wonder how this could play into their cash crisis and the spillover to bitcoin?

but was Chinese price this high?
i remember it being higher but not with this much difference.

[raven7886]

What's this all about I have many friends who deals 24 hours with bitcoin but none of them had heard about this. Well anyone explain me who is paying and why they are paying $900. Is there any logical game behind this .

Yeah, this all seems kinda strange to me too.  I don't know why anyone would need or want to pay more than market rate for bitcoin except for purposes of staying extremely anonymous or something.  Don't know if that even would make sense.  If this is true, those arbitrage opportunities aren't going to last long.  Smart traders will plug up all the holes--they always do.

Actually they have black money which they neither can deposit to bank and neither they can use it since its banned so they are buying bitcoins with their cash because bitcoins can be sold later once the issue in India settles.
I guess still people should not pay 900$ though lol being the market value 750$

[rajasumi3]

Well i think its just because of demonetosation .it is making it difficult for them to get black money out in the market .thats y .and bitcoins are in high demand because of this .and i think its the best for everyone ..kudoos

[BitcoinHodler]

i never thought i live to see the day that people of a country actually start buying bitcoin this massively and this expensive just because there is a financial crisis going on in their country.

we have already heard some news about it in Greece and two other places before but they were mostly talk and no action. this time they are actually buying bitcoin!

[20kevin20]

i never thought i live to see the day that people of a country actually start buying bitcoin this massively and this expensive just because there is a financial crisis going on in their country.

we have already heard some news about it in Greece and two other places before but they were mostly talk and no action. this time they are actually buying bitcoin!

The safest currencies are the only ones that have the possibility to live during a crisis in this world. In our case, it should be Gold and Bitcoin. Bitcoin as the second because it's virtual and without Internet or electricity we can do NOTHING with it. Gold requires a small space for 1kg (it's as small as a phone), and Gold was always the best one during the World Wars. This is why the traders are relying on Gold too.

[springgers]

There's an internacional exchange where we can sell Bitcoin to this guys? Nice hour to make some money, still don't know why this rush, paying 15%+? Seriously? Why they don't wait a little time?

[iram3130]

There's an internacional exchange where we can sell Bitcoin to this guys? Nice hour to make some money, still don't know why this rush, paying 15%+? Seriously? Why they don't wait a little time?

Everyone is selling at that price mate.
How much will anyone wait.?
This is the rate from more than 15 days now and it will definitely take another 15-30 days. 

[densuj]

   
The Indian government's demonetization drive resulting in chaos and a rush of money, the Indians turn to God to overcome the crisis.
Places of worship invited to transfer receive money

The characterization of India as a spiritual place by most tourists is not bad, given that it is the cradle of several religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Religious institutions play an important role in everyday life and get a lot of money - including small bills - in the form of donations. The Ministry of Finance has asked religious institutions to deposit their money in the donor banks, which can then redistribute these small notes into the economy.

In the southern state of Kerala, the Porres Martin De Church opens its collection box to help the needy. The church opens its box of gifts normally once every six months.
Efforts to launder money