Bitcoins gain currency, used for trading by over 200 city investors

HYDERABAD: This virtual form of money may have gained currency after the `Wannacry' ransomware attacks, but for a growing tribe of investors in 'cyber city' bitcoins have been a preferred mode of trading over the past year or so.While past incidents of ransomware attacks in the city have compelled many local companies to hoard bitcoins (it is difficult to procure a large amount of bitcoins at short notice, especially for a new entrant as trading is trust based), Hyderabad now also boasts of nearly 200 individual bitcoin investors, a 40% jump over last year, say cyber experts.
Though most bitcoin inves tors have a tech background, others too are making a beeline.“There might be just around 200 investors here but volume of the trade runs into several crores. From housewives to businessmen, tech enthusiasts and even conventional stock market traders are investing,“ said Anish Dundoo, founder of a crypto currency startup also into bitcoin trading. And despite the `Wannacry' episode sending the value of bitcoins spirall ing by `30,000 to `40,000 in just two weeks, the number of takers is on the rise because of the thrill of making a quick buck (bitcoins bring high returns).
“I started investing in bitcoins two years back. In the last one year, bitcoin prices have shot up by 150% in Indian currency . In fact, Indians today account for nearly 9.5% of the global holdings in bitcoins. People are buying not just to pay ransom but also to make payments across borders as it is the quickest mode of payment that involves no brokerage. It also makes it easy to travel internationally without carrying foreign currency ,“ said Prashant Surana, founder, Snapple Technologies, a cyber security startup. Bitcoins are also perceived as safer as they can be exchanged for over 170 currencies.
“Even if the economy of an entire country collapses, the investment in bitcoins will remain unaffected. Most big institutional investors across the globe use bitcoins to move their money ,“ said a bitcoin investor.
“We usually trade on websites and apps which have security protocols. One need not be an expert to figure out how bitcoin trading works and one can start out with an investment of as low as `1,000,“ said Kulava Santosh Bhargav , a 21-year-old blockchain developer.