[2017-10-08] Indian Self-Drive Car Rental Firm Beats Uber in Bitcoin Adoption

[moriskarlov]

Uber might be dithering about accepting Bitcoin payments, but an Indian car sharing firm has taken the lead. It claims to have raised $10 mln in funds, accepts cryptocurrencies and is planning an ICO.

Drivezy takes the leap

A self-drive rental firm in India, Drivezy, has raised $10 mln in a combination of debt and equity from American and Japanese investors, including Axan Partners that have invested $5 mln for an equity stake in the company.

The company has a fleet of over 1300 vehicles in four cities in India.

A consortium of Indian banks and financial companies have subscribed to $5 mln of debt. The company is also coming out with an ICO, to raise 17,625 ETH (~$5 mln). 


The CEO and Co-founder of Drivezy, Ashwarya Pratap Singh, said:

    "Considering the rising cost of important assets and resources such as housing and transportation, I believe the future is a shared one. With the growing popularity of Bitcoin in India, we feel that this is the right time to open ourselves up to alternative means in the sharing economy. This ICO is a part of our vision to leverage the power of Blockchain to build an open, secure and transparent technology to globalize the Indian car sharing marketplace."

The regulatory angle

An Indian firm planning an ICO raises several questions, primarily because cryptocurrencies operate in a grey area in India. Unlike regulators in the US, China or even Gibraltar, regulators in India have remained largely silent. So it comes as no surprise that the ICO of Drivezy will be launched in Japan and open to accredited investors only. That way, Drivezy can stay clear in case Indian regulators come out with sweeping regulations against crypto tokens in India.

The volatility question

One of the biggest problems with merchants accepting Bitcoin is the question of its volatile price. Drivezy has tied up with a payment processor, Unocoin, to manage this risk. While its customers might pay in Bitcoin, Drivezy receives the rupee value of those Bitcoins and is protected from volatility. This also means that if you have to get a refund, the amount of Bitcoins might be less/more than the Bitcoins you paid initially, depending on which way the price of Bitcoin has moved.

Why doesn't Uber accept Bitcoins?

Smaller firms like Drivezy have much more flexibility to take decisions like accepting cryptocurrencies for payment. For large companies like Uber operating in multiple jurisdictions, the decision is seen to be more difficult.

They have to ensure that they have a comprehensive policy about accepting cryptocurrencies and ensure that regulators are on board.

The incremental benefits of accepting Bitcoin are also smaller for companies like Uber, as their existing customer base is large, and cryptocurrency users are a niche community.

In spite of having a Bitcoin-friendly CEO, Uber has bigger problems to worry about, including loss of its London licence and a culture which supported gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/indian-self-drive-car-rental-firm-beats-uber-in-bitcoin-adoption

[laurenB7742]

Glad to see someone beat Uber at technology adoption. I don't really like Uber. I had bad experience with them and I also heard they exploit their workers and take too much profit. This competition from local Indian company can only be good.

[Jating]

Indians want to get everything and be the first to lead the innovation. I also read that there was one restaurant who are also accepting bitcoin. And it this becomes successful, we might, I say we might see Uber or Grab also followed suit. All eyes are now at this Indian company experiment. And they have like hedge against volatility by getting Unocoin to manage the risk for them. Let's see how will this experiment turn into. I hope this will be a success and the much needed mass adoption will be closer than ever.

[aso118]

While accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment is good, I don't see the reason why they should introduce yet another coin and do an ICO. Almost all companies are looking at the ICO route to raise quick funds.

[1Referee]

Glad to see someone beat Uber at technology adoption. I don't really like Uber. I had bad experience with them and I also heard they exploit their workers and take too much profit. This competition from local Indian company can only be good.

Uber is what I consider to be a real bubble. This company thrives on exploiting holes in the law to keep their business operational, but governments are slowly but surely hammering down on them. Recently, they have already lost their license in London, and I am fairly sure that this will stretch out further in the forthcoming months/years - Uber isn't a viable long term business, and for that reason I don't really care about them accepting Bitcoin or not. Props to the people who managed to build it up as they have done, but it's about time for them to face the reality and think about an exit by liquidating their shares.

[warrior333]

I don't agree with what the author writes regarding the risks associated with volatility. There is always the possibility to accept payment at a higher price and not be able to sell bitcoin even if you are connected with the exchange. The price can fall quickly. Then have to hold bitcoin and wait for it to rise in price. This may freeze the funds of the company for a long time. I do not believe in the success of the company which takes payment in bitcoins now.

[bubblebit]

Reading some information from this forum is much effective than waiting for news. It is updated and interesting to follow.

Indians innovation is in fast phase as Japan on bitcoin. They’re not afraid to try and incorporate such idea into reality as they believe and trust bitcoin future and the effectiveness of Blockchain technology as an asset to they’re businesses.

The same way, I admire they’re compassion. Maybe it is one of the reason why Indians are doubled its investors numbers as my friend bump me about. This is big possibility and a great future for bitcoin and that country.