Bitcoin Exchange in India

[infonetenergy]

There have been several attempts (and failures) towards launching a bitcoin exchange here in India.  What is required for us to start an exchange here? How can it be that every major country in the world has an exchange...EXCEPT for India?  I agree, the technical aspect of launching an exchange is trivial, but what needs to happen from a regulatory stand point?

Do we need to get an MSB (money services business) license?  If so, what are the upfront and recurring costs for launching such a venture?  Is any interested in getting involved with such a project? 

I understand the regulatory risks are high, but this entity and a Bitcoin Alliance of India should be working alongside the government to shape the regulatory outlook towards bitcoin.  No?

This is what's happening in other countries and I'm simply wondering why it's not happening here.

Is a decentralized exchange the only workable solution in India? 

[escrow.ms]

This is what's happening in other countries and I'm simply wondering why it's not happening here.

Well It's not happening here due to RBI's shitty rules and regulations.

Some times i doubt RBI is Reserve bank of India or Real Bas*** of India.

[Benson Samuel]

This is what's happening in other countries and I'm simply wondering why it's not happening here.

Well It's not happening here due to RBI's shitty rules and regulations.

Some times i doubt RBI is Reserve bank of India or Real Bas*** of India.

An Exchange for Bitcoin will never be a long term solution.
Decentralized exchanges are the only way to ensure that there is no need to even think of regulations.

[inrbtcad]

Starting an exchange in India for Bitcoin is a trivial matter, it might happen someday or one of the numerous exchanges which are already in existence will add INR to their list and voila, the exchange in India does not matter.

Infact, I am thinking that once the regulations and other related stuff get sorted out eventually, the entire world there might be only one or two exchanges related to Bitcoin and it will support most of the currencies, this is not a guess at the future, it is a reality which has happened all over the world across different business domains.

What we need to think about is, what kind of ventures does one have to start in India, which will eventually pave way to everybody accepting bitcoins as another medium of currency.

[Pinwheel]

non of those exchanges which we have serving local clients. exchange need a volume and it is not available in some single country, not in India, not in any other country besides USA maybe. MtGox physically based in Japan, hardly they do any business in Japan.

Most important for exchange be able to process international withdrawals and deposits fast. Physically you can sit in Bangalor, have a International Business Company registered in some of shore zone and  then you can add to your exchange a pairs like USD-INR and BTC-INR. To set up exchange first of all you need to know how to run business and have some experience in running it.

What we have here in India now is bitcoins commission agents. And if it is done properly and openly it can be run with success and offer valuable service. And it will not rise much tension and accusation.

[Benson Samuel]

Someone who has access needs to talk to pawn brokers and money lenders.
They are registered MSB's and may be in a position to act as a Bitcoin agent as well.

[devansh1991]

Hi guys! I am a 4th yr btech student from NIT Jamshedpur. I read about bitcoins in a forbesindia article a couple of months back. I wanted to buy a few coins but could not find an efficient and a reliable site/exchange to trade coins. I have joined hands with a friend of mine from IIT Kgp and am planning to start  an exchange. We will be operating from our colg. campus itself so that should remove the "trust deficit" since we still have an entire year of colg. left and cannot run away with your money.

1)I would like to know the problems faced by bitcoin traders and we'll try to solve them.

2) Could any one give me a rough estimate about the no. of active bitcoin traders and how actively they trade?

3) Our operational costs will be pretty low since we'll be operating from our colg. Therefore we would like to charge the smallest possible commission that would be just enough to cover our costs. As per my calculations a commission of 3% should be sufficient. I need your feed back on the commssion rate.

Any suggestion/advice is welcome 
Hopefully we'll have the exchange rolling in a couple of months.

[escrow.ms]

Hi guys! I am a 4th yr btech student from NIT Jamshedpur. I read about bitcoins in a forbesindia article a couple of months back. I wanted to buy a few coins but could not find an efficient and a reliable site/exchange to trade coins. I have joined hands with a friend of mine from IIT Kgp and am planning to start  an exchange. We will be operating from our colg. campus itself so that should remove the "trust deficit" since we still have an entire year of colg. left and cannot run away with your money.

1)I would like to know the problems faced by bitcoin traders and we'll try to solve them.

2) Could any one give me a rough estimate about the no. of active bitcoin traders and how actively they trade?

3) Our operational costs will be pretty low since we'll be operating from our colg. Therefore we would like to charge the smallest possible commission that would be just enough to cover our costs. As per my calculations a commission of 3% should be sufficient. I need your feed back on the commssion rate.

Any suggestion/advice is welcome  
Hopefully we'll have the exchange rolling in a couple of months.

Without a proper license you guys can get into big trouble unless you make a crypto only trading site.

Ps: Spend some more time here and check trading sites to know more about them.

[Benson Samuel]

Hi guys! I am a 4th yr btech student from NIT Jamshedpur. I read about bitcoins in a forbesindia article a couple of months back. I wanted to buy a few coins but could not find an efficient and a reliable site/exchange to trade coins. I have joined hands with a friend of mine from IIT Kgp and am planning to start  an exchange. We will be operating from our colg. campus itself so that should remove the "trust deficit" since we still have an entire year of colg. left and cannot run away with your money.

1)I would like to know the problems faced by bitcoin traders and we'll try to solve them.

2) Could any one give me a rough estimate about the no. of active bitcoin traders and how actively they trade?

3) Our operational costs will be pretty low since we'll be operating from our colg. Therefore we would like to charge the smallest possible commission that would be just enough to cover our costs. As per my calculations a commission of 3% should be sufficient. I need your feed back on the commssion rate.

Any suggestion/advice is welcome 
Hopefully we'll have the exchange rolling in a couple of months.

All the best guys!

Make sure that you'll do your legal groundwork, etc before going big.

[devansh1991]

As far as i am told RBI doesnt hava policy on bitcoins and if we show that we are selling goods-bitcoins and pay service tax, follow kyc rules, we shud be just fine. What do you think?? Could anyone  pls elaborate on the "offshore comapny" part

[Benson Samuel]

As far as i am told RBI doesnt hava policy on bitcoins and if we show that we are selling goods-bitcoins and pay service tax, follow kyc rules, we shud be just fine. What do you think?? Could anyone  pls elaborate on the "offshore comapny" part

Yep, you should be good with Bitcoin by following those steps. Run them by a CA though; you wanna be sure.
Your problems may arise when finding a banking partner. You may want to talk to few banks/ WU/ other payment providers to identify a solution before you proceed.
It will give you a fair idea of the challenges.

[escrow.ms]

As far as i am told RBI doesnt hava policy on bitcoins and if we show that we are selling goods-bitcoins and pay service tax, follow kyc rules, we shud be just fine. What do you think?? Could anyone  pls elaborate on the "offshore comapny" part

If you are going to deal with fiat it's not going to be easy and they might don't have a policy now but they will make it for sure when they will see people investing money in bitcoins and using it to do money laundering/illegal purpose.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/RBI-red-flags-virtual-currency/articleshow/20808495.cms