Coinbase halts payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on Sunday in less than 4 days after the its launch. Clients of the crypto exchange in India are unable to purchase cryptocurrencies via UPI as a payment method. ‘Currently unavailable’ error is displayed.
On 7 April the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) tweeted that it is unaware of any crypto exchange
Exchange
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectively relevant with real-time pricing.Depending upon where you reside, an exchange may be referred to as a bourse or a share exchange while, as a whole, exchanges are present within the majority of countries. Who is Listed on an Exchange?As trading continues to transition more to electronic exchanges, transactions become more dispersed through varying exchanges. This in turn has caused a surge in the implementation of trading algorithms and high-frequency trading applications. In order for a company to be listed on a stock exchange for example, a company must divulge information such as minimum capital requirements, audited earnings reports, and financial reports.Not all exchanges are created equally, with some outperforming other exchanges significantly. The most high-profile exchanges to date include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Nasdaq. Outside of trading, a stock exchange may be used by companies aiming to raise capital, this is most commonly seen in the form of initial public offerings (IPOs).Exchanges can now handle other asset classes, given the rise of cryptocurrencies as a more popularized form of trading.
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectively relevant with real-time pricing.Depending upon where you reside, an exchange may be referred to as a bourse or a share exchange while, as a whole, exchanges are present within the majority of countries. Who is Listed on an Exchange?As trading continues to transition more to electronic exchanges, transactions become more dispersed through varying exchanges. This in turn has caused a surge in the implementation of trading algorithms and high-frequency trading applications. In order for a company to be listed on a stock exchange for example, a company must divulge information such as minimum capital requirements, audited earnings reports, and financial reports.Not all exchanges are created equally, with some outperforming other exchanges significantly. The most high-profile exchanges to date include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Nasdaq. Outside of trading, a stock exchange may be used by companies aiming to raise capital, this is most commonly seen in the form of initial public offerings (IPOs).Exchanges can now handle other asset classes, given the rise of cryptocurrencies as a more popularized form of trading. Read this Term using UPI.
Coinbase response to the NPCI with the following statement:
“We are aware of the recent statement published by NPCI regarding the use of UPI by cryptocurrency exchanges. We are committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms.”
At the time of this writing, India-based users are unable to buy tokens via UPI (selling option is available). It is unclear whether it is related to a significant drop in crypto trading volumes following the 30% tax in India.
It has been reported that cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities.
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term volumes dropped by as much as 55% following the new crypto tax. Mobikwik wallet, which has partnered with many crypto exchanges announced it is terminating its e-Wallet services from cryptocurrency exchanges.
It is possible that due to the NPCI statement on 7 April, banks may be blocking transactions to Coinbase via UPI. It is still unclear at this stage why depositing via UPI is disabled at Coinbase while some suggesting it is temporary.
India Cryptocurrency Regulations
According to local reports in India, the government may not announce any form of regulations on cryptocurrencies until there is a global consensus.
The assumption is that India is waiting for Europe and the US to announce their framework for regulating cryptocurrencies. India’s central bank (RBI) opposes cryptocurrencies, stating that they are a threat to financial stability.
India’s court however removed the restrictions that were imposed by the RBI in 2020. Since the India crypto market spiked by +641% from July 2020 to June 2021. It has been suggested that local banks side with the RBI’s views on cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase halts payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on Sunday in less than 4 days after the its launch. Clients of the crypto exchange in India are unable to purchase cryptocurrencies via UPI as a payment method. ‘Currently unavailable’ error is displayed.
On 7 April the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) tweeted that it is unaware of any crypto exchange
Exchange
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectively relevant with real-time pricing.Depending upon where you reside, an exchange may be referred to as a bourse or a share exchange while, as a whole, exchanges are present within the majority of countries. Who is Listed on an Exchange?As trading continues to transition more to electronic exchanges, transactions become more dispersed through varying exchanges. This in turn has caused a surge in the implementation of trading algorithms and high-frequency trading applications. In order for a company to be listed on a stock exchange for example, a company must divulge information such as minimum capital requirements, audited earnings reports, and financial reports.Not all exchanges are created equally, with some outperforming other exchanges significantly. The most high-profile exchanges to date include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Nasdaq. Outside of trading, a stock exchange may be used by companies aiming to raise capital, this is most commonly seen in the form of initial public offerings (IPOs).Exchanges can now handle other asset classes, given the rise of cryptocurrencies as a more popularized form of trading.
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectively relevant with real-time pricing.Depending upon where you reside, an exchange may be referred to as a bourse or a share exchange while, as a whole, exchanges are present within the majority of countries. Who is Listed on an Exchange?As trading continues to transition more to electronic exchanges, transactions become more dispersed through varying exchanges. This in turn has caused a surge in the implementation of trading algorithms and high-frequency trading applications. In order for a company to be listed on a stock exchange for example, a company must divulge information such as minimum capital requirements, audited earnings reports, and financial reports.Not all exchanges are created equally, with some outperforming other exchanges significantly. The most high-profile exchanges to date include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Nasdaq. Outside of trading, a stock exchange may be used by companies aiming to raise capital, this is most commonly seen in the form of initial public offerings (IPOs).Exchanges can now handle other asset classes, given the rise of cryptocurrencies as a more popularized form of trading. Read this Term using UPI.
Coinbase response to the NPCI with the following statement:
“We are aware of the recent statement published by NPCI regarding the use of UPI by cryptocurrency exchanges. We are committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms.”
At the time of this writing, India-based users are unable to buy tokens via UPI (selling option is available). It is unclear whether it is related to a significant drop in crypto trading volumes following the 30% tax in India.
It has been reported that cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities.
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term volumes dropped by as much as 55% following the new crypto tax. Mobikwik wallet, which has partnered with many crypto exchanges announced it is terminating its e-Wallet services from cryptocurrency exchanges.
It is possible that due to the NPCI statement on 7 April, banks may be blocking transactions to Coinbase via UPI. It is still unclear at this stage why depositing via UPI is disabled at Coinbase while some suggesting it is temporary.
India Cryptocurrency Regulations
According to local reports in India, the government may not announce any form of regulations on cryptocurrencies until there is a global consensus.
The assumption is that India is waiting for Europe and the US to announce their framework for regulating cryptocurrencies. India’s central bank (RBI) opposes cryptocurrencies, stating that they are a threat to financial stability.
India’s court however removed the restrictions that were imposed by the RBI in 2020. Since the India crypto market spiked by +641% from July 2020 to June 2021. It has been suggested that local banks side with the RBI’s views on cryptocurrencies.
Following the tech journeys of four noteworthy Odisha personalities making their mark in the fast-developing blockchain space.
Blockchain technology offers a great many advantages to many industries, with the financial sector being one of the most notable examples. It has the potential to have an even greater impact in developing countries, where blockchain-enhanced fintech can help improve financial accessibility for the 1.7 billion unbanked people around the world through services such as peer-to-peer loans and alternative currency payments and investments.
This Is why it should come as no surprise that, while most of the first wave of cryptocurrency influencers such as Erik Voorhees, Charlie Lee, Tim Draper, Andreas Antonopoulos and many more all hail from first-world Western countries, it is from the developing countries that some of the technology’s biggest thought leaders can be found.
In fact, four highly respected champions of blockchain technology are Odia, referring to people who originate from Odisha, a state in the Indian subcontinent. Despite being one of the poorest states of the country, Odisha has produced four trailblazing journeys, united by both geographic origin as well as their respective challenges in the tech industry. In particular, these personalities are making their mark in the world of blockchain, in remarkably exciting times for disruptive technology.
Sopnendu Mohanty
Sopnendu Mohanty got his start in the IT industry back in 1995, following both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in information science. In 1997, he moved to Japan to join Citigroup’s product and services development division. He would stay with the company for 18 years, eventually being promoted to Head of Citigroup’s Asia Pacific Branch Operations, and then later to Head of Citigroup’s Global Consumer Lab.
In 2015, Sopnendu Mohanty left Citigroup and joined the Singapore government-run Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as Chief Financial Officer. At MAS, he has helped contribute to Singapore’s rise as one of the world’s top fintech hubs.
In addition to his work at MAS, Sopnendu is also an avid speaker and global thought leader in fintech, and an outspoken advocate for an accelerated transformation to a digital blockchain-based economy.
“Having a distributed ledger by design takes away the whole complexity behind settling things, checking things. And it allows some of the business rules to be built into the use cases — the payment process, the settlement process, the underlying business rules can be encoded to a single stream,” said Sopnendu Mohanty.
“There are two different processes in today’s world. There’s a process where you pay each other and there’s a process in which we exchange goods and services. Blockchain digital currency brings together these two processes into a single process in which you’re not only paying each other but also ensuring that goods and services are exchanged at the point of payment.”
In September 2021, the MAS granted DBS Vickers — a subsidiary of DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia — a license to officially offer cryptocurrency services.
“This is a natural progression in any innovation and there has been a very clear growing interest in digital assets,” Sopnendu Mohanty said.
“Fintechs are always pushing banks out of their comfortable traditional finance space. It’s very encouraging for us to see DBS think about such new areas where they can add value and create a new service. This is truly a sign of the maturity of the Singaporean fintech sector. Here, we don’t see a difference between fintechs and banks. Both are complimentary, they come together and work together.”
Mriganka Pattnaik
Hailing from the ancient city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Mriganka Pattnaik got his fintech career off the ground with numerous internships even before he finished his technology Bachelor’s degree from ITT Guwahati in 2013. Upon graduation, Mriganka went straight to work at Bank of America as an analyst in their Mumbai branch.
Two years later, he left to found his first company, Datatrix Healthcare Technologies, to help people remotely order medication and home diagnostic tests from nearby pharmacies.
“I saw an opportunity to address a need and to this day, I believe that entrepreneurship is the most direct way to bridge these gaps,” Pattnaik said
“Unfortunately, there was a lot of regulatory ambiguity in the area of online pharmacies. It was difficult to understand the full picture in terms of risk. Through this experience, I understood how regulatory ambiguity can really hinder innovation and hurt early startups. Afterward, I moved to Singapore in 2016 to work at Luno, a prominent crypto exchange, to support strategy and country-specific execution across three continents.”
During his time at Luno, he witnessed firsthand the compliance challenges faced by digital asset businesses in diverse jurisdictions and the key role regulations play in the industry’s health and sustainable growth. He then joined the Entrepreneur First tech incubator where he met Nirmal Aryath Koroth, with whom he co-founded his second company, Merkle Science, in 2018.
Merkle Science is a risk and intelligence platform that helps companies and government organizations detect, investigate and prevent illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies.
“As blockchain and cryptocurrency gained popularity, more financial institutions, retail platforms and governments started adopting the technology. Unfortunately, as the legitimate use cases rise, so does its illegal use,” Pattnaik said. “In 2020 alone, it is estimated that more than 12 billion dollars worth of crypto was involved in illicit transactions.”
“Unsurprisingly, this has led to many governments around the world introducing new laws and regulations that govern how cryptocurrency businesses can operate. These new regulations seek to mitigate the risk that comes with cryptocurrencies. However, these new laws and regulations have made it difficult for companies to work with cryptocurrencies and they struggle to figure out how to comply. With these new laws, there is then a need for new-age solutions and this is where Merkle Science comes in. We have developed a suite of solutions designed to make use of the blockchain’s transparent and traceable nature in order to help businesses identify and protect themselves against criminal use,” commented Pattnaik.
Debajani Mohanty
Debajani Mohanty is the bestselling author of five books on blockchain and was ranked among the top 30 Blockchain influencers from India on Singapore Fintech news as well as the world’s top 100 blockchain social influencers by Piktale awards. Born in coastal Odisha, she studied Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering at Sambalpur University before launching straight into what would become a 24-year career (and counting) devising software solutions for companies from India and, since 2020, England.
She got her feet wet with blockchain in 2017, from which point she has worked in development using numerous blockchain technologies. “The true potential of blockchain is yet to be realized,” Debajani Mohanty said. “We need much more dedicated research.”
Debajani Mohanty’s books range from broad blockchain overviews for new students on the subject, such as her five-star books “Blockchain for Self Sovereign Digital Identity” and “Ethereum for Architects and Developers”, to deep-dive courses on the specific blockchain technologies R3 Corda, Ripple and Ethereum. She has also published a novel focused on themes of the empowerment of women, titled “The Curse of Damini”, for which she was honored with the Arya award by Nobel Peace prize winner Kailash Satyarthi.
Since the beginning of her blockchain career, she has tried to share her learning through books, blogs, videos and live sessions at numerous blockchain summits in India and abroad. She stresses that “propagating knowledge especially to business leaders and decision-makers is the need of the hour, as they have the authority to carry forward this blockchain journey to the next level.”
According to Debajani Mohanty, the next big trends in blockchain are expected to be CBDC, Decentralized Identity and enforcement of data acts (GDPR, CCPA, PDPA etc.) in handling personal data leading to privacy-preserving solutions.
Naquib Mohammed
Born in the city of Cuttack, Naquib Mohammed studied information technology at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar. He then spent more than a decade in information technology, starting as a software engineer then later as a business architect, working for companies across the globe.
“My interest in cryptocurrency really started to get serious after spending a few years learning and working on enterprise use cases of distributed ledger technology in the bull run of late 2019,” said Naquib Mohammed.
“As an enterprise architect, researching the growing IT market was a natural move, and this is where I noticed blockchain as an important part of Industry 4.0 technologies.”
Mohammed was invited to Australia in 2020 by invitation of the Australian government as a “Distinguished Global Fintech Talent”. There, he dove headfirst into blockchain technology, devoting 7–8 hours a day to study and learn the technology.
“During this tenure, I completed over 15 certifications in different areas of blockchain within a six-month span.”
In April of 2021, after working at another startup he decided to launch his own pioneering decentralized finance startup, MRHB (pronounced Marhaba) DeFi. This was to address what he felt was a major gap in a crypto space that excluded many communities due to their faith (in particular himself as a Muslim), lack of access and technological complexity. The demand for financial services which are consistent with faith principles is evidenced by the Islamic Finance industry, currently worth around $3 trillion USD.
In addition, Mohammed wanted to build a more empowering, ethical and community focussed project that would cater to those new to crypto and also address the negative perception created by extensive instances of fraud, risk and opacity in the sector. As such, he hopes to create a more ethical and inclusive project that benefits everyone regardless of faith.
“As our platform is based on very high ethical standards, one of our product offerings is a crypto-based donations platform, the DePhi, a decentralized philanthropy protocol, planned in Phase 2. We sincerely hope to attract investors from all walks of life who are interested in making sure their investments have some form of social impact in addition to benefiting from the wealth opportunities of the cryptoverse,” explained Mohammed.
“By approaching the new crypto economy with a more ethical approach from the very start, we can all do our part to create a more equitable and more inclusive future for all.”
A landmark project in the DeFi ecosystem, being the first to target the USD 3 trillion Islamic Finance ecosystem and other excluded communities, MRHB DeFi is notably backed by Polygon Technology. A prominent Layer-2 blockchain, Polygon is supporting the development of the first dApp focussed on the Islamic and ethical finance sector.
With their blockchain stories impacting different industries and use-cases, from regulations, compliance, intelligence gathering and security to education, ethics, inclusion, and philanthropy, these blockchain personalities are an inspiration to people all over the world who wish to be involved in the revolutionary technology.
As the blockchain and decentralized finance movements sweep across the world, we will undoubtedly see more professional representation from everywhere. Hopefully, blockchain innovators and startup founders from underdeveloped economies especially will find great success, for these are the regions where the technology can do the most social good. Financial services such as zero-fee payments and transactions, peer-to-peer loans and all manner of banking transactions for excluded communities are possible in the realms of blockchain and cryptocurrency.
We need only for more pioneers to step up and seize the opportunity.
The creator of India’s crypto bill, former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg, dismissed the notion of banning “private cryptocurrencies” as a misinterpretation while highlighting the enormous potential of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
The Parliamentary discussions around a controversial crypto bill sparked fears around the ban on cryptocurrencies, with no clear indication about the ban’s scope. As Cointelegraph reported, an episode of panic selling among Indian investors followed the announcement. In an interview with local news channel News 18, Garg clarified:
“[The description of the crypto bill] was perhaps a mistake. It is misleading to say that private cryptocurrencies will be banned and to intimate the government about the same.”
He believes that the Indian government should formulate a bill after discussing it with stakeholders and crypto investors. Furthermore, the bill suggests banning private cryptocurrencies without clarifying what the word “private” stands for.
As a result, the crypto community in India self-interpreted two different versions of the bill’s agenda — one that considers banning all non-government issued cryptocurrencies and the other that excludes cryptocurrencies running on the public blockchains such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Garg also pointed out a flaw in classifying cryptocurrencies as assets after underscoring the vast ecosystem powered by disruptive technology. He also said that crypto exchanges have limited interests and do not represent the entire community:
“You don’t classify the wheat that you produce, you don’t classify the clothes you produce, as assets. That is too much of oversimplification to treat this as an asset.”
On an end note, Garg added that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiatives, especially in countries like India, are complex. According to him, the government first needs to address challenges, including the unavailability of smartphones and digital wallet issuance.
Related: Singaporean crypto exchange enters India amid regulatory uncertainty
The Indian crypto market continues to attract international firms with the latest being Coinstore, a Singaporean crypto exchange. As Cointelegraph reported, Coinstore has allocated a $20-million fund to set up three new offices in the region.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Coinstore spokesperson was hopeful for the development of a positive crypto regulatory framework:
“Strict KYC process, security requirement for exchanges, as well as gradual regulation of certain cryptocurrencies naturally protects the Indian users and would clarify the legality of certain cryptocurrencies.”
Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 30, 2021 — The world’s first halal DeFi ecosystem MRHB DeFi is collaborating with leading Indian cryptocurrency trading platform Coinsbit to bring crypto-asset opportunities to India’s huge population of 200 million Muslims, driving further participation in the blockchain economy.
MRHB DeFi’s vision of an inclusive crypto-verse, follows Islamic ethical finance principles but is suitable for those looking for a socially conscious blockchain that avoids interest, usury, exploitation and other business practices deemed unethical.
Being Halal means that MRHB DeFi operates within the highly ethical constraints of Shariah law which broadly implies that all business decisions are conducted in conjunction with Islamic teachings which promote inclusion, access, and faith, and function simply and transparently for the benefit of its users.
A Visionary Partnership to Serve 200 Million Muslims
India is home to 200 million Muslims constituting 10% of the global population and is the world’s third-largest Muslim community. This group is often excluded from the cryptoverse due to their faith-driven principles regarding financial and business conduct.
What this partnership means:
Coinsbit would be the first Indian exchange to introduce a certified Shariah-compliant project to the Muslim Community. MRHB will conduct an initial exchange offering (IEO) on the Coinsbit Exchange during launch and introduce the blockchain’s native token, $MHB (Marhaba Token), to the global community
Coinsbit is headquartered in Hyderabad which is geographically close to the large metropolitan community of Hyderabad & Bangalore that has a sizable of Muslim population
MRHB DeFi will integrate Coinsbit’s portal with its app (Sahal Wallet), enabling users to directly use Coinsbit for trading crypto-assets.
Coinsbit will give the users a trading platform, where $MHB (Marhaba Token) would be available to the Indian Community
MRHB DeFi would also lead marketing activities for the exchange in the fast-growing Australian market
Both the partners will gain substantially from each other’s marketing and community growth activities
A Shared Mission for an Inclusive Cryptoverse
“Blockchain and DeFi have exploded in popularity in 2021, and we forecast this stratospheric growth to continue. That’s why we’re excited to be teaming up with one of India’s premier cryptocurrency exchanges to offer MRHB DeFi products and services to everyone across the Indian subcontinent who are looking for a true, ethical alternative to the existing platforms in the cryptoverse,” says Naquib Mohammed, MRHB DeFi Founder & CEO.
“Blockchain offers amazing potential for all communities. We aim to deliver this potential to those who may have previously struggled to access or been cautious to use DeFi products and services. We also hope to provide them with all of the rich opportunities for growth, expansion and development that DeFi offers,” adds Naquib.
“We’re excited about embarking on this shared journey with MRHB. Islamic DeFi and Shariah-based crypto financial products are an area of extraordinary growth and potential for India. We’re committed to delivering MRHB DeFi’s visionary range of services and products to our clients across our continent,” says Ravneet Kaur, CEO of Coinsbit India.
She continues, “The time is right for a blockchain project that is based on the tenets of faith, inclusion and access for all, while being transparent and simple to use. MRHB DeFi has demonstrated to us that they are committed to a long-term vision for ethical people around the world no matter what their faith is.”
Asian countries are outpacing the rest of the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption and India has ranked second in the global cryptocurrency adoption index, according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis. Indians have invested more than five times the amount of the previous year and the momentum is encouraging.
Crypto adoption is on the rise in India and the Indian exchanges WazirX, CoinDCX and Coinswitch Kuber have doubled their user base between January and March 2021.
Coinsbit India started its operations recently and has already captured market attention by onboarding a million users in around three months.
About MRHB DeFi
MRHB DeFi is a halal, decentralised finance platform built to embody the true spirit of an “Ethical and Inclusive DeFi” by following faith-based financial and business principles, where all excluded communities can benefit from the full empowerment potential of DeFi.
Based on the tenets of blockchain such as trust, transparency, and security, MRHB DeFi has encapsulated universally applicable principles of Shariah into those tenets of blockchain to render a suite of offerings. It is a complete DeFi ecosystem whose products, protocols and crypto-assets are governed primarily by the ethical, inclusive, sustainable and charitable investment principles associated with the Islamic faith or ‘Islamic Finance’ (‘IF’ as it is commonly known).
The diverse team is comprised of researchers, technocrats, influencers, Islamic fintech experts & business entrepreneurs, who came together to ensure that MRHB DeFi prevails in a manner that will impact society as a whole, essentially bridging the gap between the faith-conscious communities and the blockchain world.
Read more about MRHB DeFi’s Shariah Concept Paper, Lite and White Paper here.
Since its inception in 2017, Coinsbit has been one of the most trusted exchange platforms for cryptocurrency traders from around the world. Coinsbit India aims to become the leading trading platform for the Indian market, which is just beginning to realize the potential of cryptocurrencies. It always works according to the guidelines set by the government of India. Coinsbit India is committed to providing a service, reliability and convenience that cannot be matched by any other platform, and as one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is proud to represent India.
Coinbase will cover 90% of costs for 10 talented individuals to attend inaugural Dapp Ethereum Bootcamp.
Coinbase has an ambitious mission to increase economic freedom in the world. By leveraging blockchain technology and digital currencies, we’re building an open financial system, in which capital flows through open-source protocols that are faster, more transparent, and available to all. In order for the technology to achieve its full potential, the crypto industry needs to attract the most talented, motivated, and diverse people who can help build the future.
As part of Coinbase Giving — our philanthropic arm funded by 1% of equity, profit, and employee time — we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with the Dapp Ethereum bootcamp to fund 10 scholarships for applicants from India, with a focus on attracting women applicants. Applications are due August 13, 2021 for the inaugural cohort August 22-29, 2021.
The Dapp Ethereum bootcamp was founded by Preethi Kasireddy, a leading expert on Ethereum, who started her crypto career as an engineer at Coinbase. We are inspired by Preethi’s entrepreneurialism and passion for developing emerging talent globally. As such, we’re honored to partner with Preethi on the ground floor of her inaugural bootcamp.
By providing 10 talented individuals with a scholarship covering 90% of costs, we will help foster the next generation of global talent in the cryptocurrency industry.
Apply here by August 13th, if you’re interested in launching your first Dapp on Ethereum.
Coinbase is hiring across all functions and roles in India. Read more about our ambitious India plans here.
Coinbase funding scholarships in India for Dapp Ethereum Bootcamp, founded by ex-Coinbase engineer was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
by Pankaj Gupta, VP Engineering and Site Lead, India
I joined Coinbase about two months ago to establish and lead a new tech hub for Coinbase in India. In this blog post, I wanted to share a bit about our plans and ambitions in India and how we are thinking about this hub in general.
There’s never been a more exciting time for builders working in crypto. This is true worldwide, but especially in India which is seeing a boom in crypto-native talent and in creating and growing important crypto projects — Polygon and Instadapp to name just a couple. It is of course well known that India has a vibrant, world class community of software engineers, technology builders and entrepreneurs. To add to this, we have been pleasantly surprised at the growing expertise in crypto and blockchain technologies as well.
Building a high quality tech hub
Coinbase is fully committed to expanding the understanding of crypto and blockchains in the region. It is early days for our India tech hub but it has already taken off with an incredible amount of interest in our open roles from across India. We have ambitious plans for this hub in the near future — we want to hire hundreds of world class engineers in the near term. This team of engineers will be complemented by equally high quality product and design teams, as well as support functions such as recruiting and HR to build out a sustainable, well-rounded tech hub. One of our cherished cultural tenets is top talent in every seat — so even though we wish to hire in large numbers, we are proud to say that each of these new hires is and will be among the topmost talent available anywhere in the world.
To support our ambitious growth plans in India, we are also exploring startup acquisitions and acquihires. Founders who might be interested in joining Coinbase’s journey and mission, please contact me.
Coinbase is an ambitious and fast-moving company. As we build our presence in India from scratch, this is an incredible opportunity to work in a start-up-like, fast growing environment. The crypto space — together with its terminology, its protocols, projects, tokens, etc. — is a whole new exciting universe with new stuff to learn about every day. For me, it is frankly like being a kid in a candy store — or a mithai shop if you will — every day 🙂
Independent and autonomous charters in exciting deep tech areas
We have intentionally planned out a continuously learning environment and an org structure to maximise learning, growth and impact. We will have teams in all major areas Coinbase works in today — infrastructure, cloud, platform, payments, crypto, blockchains, data engineering, machine learning, growth, product engineering — to name just a few. These teams in India will be led by local engineering directors, who will have large, independent and autonomous charters. They are being intentionally set up for local decision-making to optimise for impact and velocity. These teams will work on a combination of projects that support both our global products and systems, as well as projects in the greater APAC region. We believe this will increase the speed, empowerment, and local decision making, as well as provide a sustainable and better quality of work life for all our teams worldwide.
In order to be fully functioning, independent and fast-moving, we are also hiring roles — both senior and junior — across product management, user experience, design and program management. In addition, we’re creating a core support team — in areas such as in HR and recruiting — to provide well-rounded support for our India hub.
Flexible and modern work environment, with plenty of perks
Given our remote-first strategy, we offer a truly flexible and modern work environment. That means that we’re hiring from all parts of India in order to find the best talent wherever they are or choose to work from in the country. We plan to complement this with physical offices in key cities as well to have a hybrid, flexible environment. In addition to the challenging and meaningful work, we also provide top tier perks and compensation, which allows us to ensure we have top talent in every seat across the company.
As a product led company, it’s important that our new hires in India truly understand the products and services that they are helping to deliver. That’s why we’re introducing a new program called CIkka — short for “Coinbase India Sikka” — offering each new employee in India a one-time $1000 in crypto when they start. Our expectation is that they’ll leverage this offering to learn about crypto, and will use this knowledge to help us build the next generation of products that will delight our customers around the world.
Want to do challenging work that has worldwide impact?
So, what types of employees are we looking for? We want to hire nimble and innovative people who want to make an impact and contribute to our mission of increasing economic freedom in the world. We’re looking for builders, who want to create products that will drive the global cryptoeconomy forward. We have built a culture of sustained innovation in the company, exemplified by Project 10%, where we dedicate 10% of our resources to supporting big product bets.
To learn more about our innovative culture, please review this recent post from our co-founder and CEO, Brian Armstrong. In it, he outlines our cultural tenets that describe how we treat each other and operate day-to-day at the company. If you’re interested in joining us on our mission, please visit our hiring website and apply for our open positions in India.
Building Crypto Out of India was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
