How to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple in India?

Several virtual currencies are available in the market for years, but they have recently gained much popularity in India. The main reason behind this increased attraction towards cryptocurrencies is a sudden spike in their price which raised public eyeballs all over the world. Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency that came in highlights when it surged from $1000 to $19000 within just one year.

Multiple platforms are operating in India through which you can buy or sell cryptocurrencies. A platform having the facility to trade more than one cryptocurrency is also referred to as a currency exchange. This is similar to a stock exchange where you can buy or sell various stocks. The stocks are stored in a Demat account, similarly, cryptocurrencies are stored in currency wallets.

Buying any cryptocurrency like bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, etc. can seem a little scary for the first time but it is just as simple as registering in any shopping cart, authenticating the registration and placing a new order. Follow these four simple steps to accomplish this:

1. Find a cryptocurrency wallet provided by portals like Zebpay, Unocoin, Ethx, Koinex, etc.
2. Create an account within the selected portal and complete KYC.
3. Transfer fund from your linked bank account.
4. Place order to buy cryptocurrency.

These wallets offer referral programs through which users gain a small percentage of cryptocurrency as a welcome bonus on registering to their platform. To register to these platforms use the referral links available here:

• Zebpay and UnoCoin are two popular mobile apps that can be used to buy or sell bitcoins using indian rupees of your bank account.
• Ethx.in website can be used to buy ethereum at a cheaper rate.
• Koinex.in can be used to buy bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, litecoin and bitcoin cash.
• Sragy.com can be used to buy ethereum, ethereum classic, ripple, litecoin, dash and iota.
• BuyUcoin.com can be used to buy various cryptocurrencies.

A new concept of the crypto community platform is also catching public interest nowadays due to their commitment to very high monthly returns from either lending, staking, mining or trading of tokens provided by them. A detailed analysis should be done before investing in such community platforms.

Few crypto community platforms that are growing at a faster pace are shared below:

• Crypterium - digital crypto-bank with credit subtoken and open platform.
• Storiqa - a crypto marketplace that connects one million offline stores worldwide.

What is Cryptocurrency and how to buy them?

The world is evolving rapidly and so is the mode of exchange. Each country has its own currency but when the trade is to be done across borders, then there is no common currency and so the transaction has to be leveraged upon Dollars which is again the currency of the US.

Digital technologies have virtually connected the world via the internet. Blockchain is one such technology through which decentralised digital currency or virtual currency has come into existence. These virtual currencies are nothing but timestamp-based cryptographic identities generated using a very distinct algorithm. These algorithms are very secure and keep detailed traces of each transaction within Blockchain ledgers. This has made economists and technology experts rely on virtual currencies generated by Blockchain technology. 

As these virtual currencies are generated digitally using cryptographic algorithms, they are also known as Cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that came into existence in 2009. After its worldwide acceptance, various other virtual currencies were launched with little enhancement over bitcoin. Till the end of the year 2017, there were more than 100 such virtual currencies in existence out of which few popular ones are Ethereum,  Litecoin, Ripple, IOTA and BitcoinPower.

Each physical currency has an acronym: USD for dollar, EUR for euro, INR for rupees, etc. Similarly, an acronym is also specific for each virtual currency: BTC for bitcoin, ETH for ethereum, LTC for litecoin, XRP for ripple, etc.

Similar to the stock exchange available for the stock market, cryptocurrency exchange websites also exist. Through these cryptocurrency exchange, you can buy, sell or exchange cryptocurrencies with other digital currencies or traditional currency like the dollar or euro. Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp are the most popular cryptocurrency exchange websites where you can create an account and start trading.

Even though virtual currencies are not yet made legal by many countries, but multinational enterprises have started upgrading their applications to accept cryptocurrencies as a mode of exchange. World giants like the US, Japan and Canada have started using cryptocurrencies for long and other countries are also working on this digital revolution to amend their taxation policy.

India has not yet legalised cryptocurrency transactions as its impact on the economy is still being analysed by experts and economists. Its government has given a clear indication that they are amending their taxation policies to restrict unauthorised inflow/outflow of funds so that such transactions can be legalised.

Though it is not necessary to start doing transactions in cryptocurrencies on an immediate basis, it is better to keep the account ready to operate whenever the opportunity grows. Here is a list of few exchanges where cryptocurrencies can be bought in Indian rupees:

• Koinex
• Ethx
• Sragy
• BuyUCoin

These are two mobile apps that can also be kept handy:

• Zebpay
• UnoCoin

Open source, peer-to-peer, community-driven decentralised cryptocurrencies are also available that allow people to store and invest their wealth in a non-government-controlled currency, and even earn a substantial interest in investment. This means anyone holding such currencies in their wallet will receive interest on their balance for helping them maintain the security of the network.

Refer to this article on how to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple in India.