Chennai: While RBI has no intention of regulating bitcoins, the virtual currency that is gaining popularity among net users, a Bengaluru-based e-commerce company has gone a step further to hawk regular FMCG products using bit coins.
Be it chocolate (bitcoin 0.0030), biscuits (bitcoin 0.0010 to 0.0040, ready-to-eat food items (bitcoin 0.0020 to 0.0040) or even a second-hand Royal Enfield bike (bitcoin 3), now buy them online using this digital currency in MadOverCoins. There is also bottled water (bitcoin 0.0010) and tender coconuts (bitcoin 0.0010) available through the site, which is delivered across the globe though the delivery may well be delayed depending on which part of the world one is in.
Bitcoin is a crypto currency whose creation and transfer is based on an opensource cryptographic protocol independent of any central authority. Th-ough the adigital currency is making waves across the globe, it is still at its infancy in India. The value of the bitcoin varies daily akin to share trading and on December 4, one bit coin was being traded at $1,178.10 per US?dollar.
The idea for a bitcoin-powered e-commerce site seems to have sprung up for the Nikkam couple when they came across a lot of NRIs and foreigners evinced interest in buying Indian products. Th-ough till date, only a few transactions have happened on the site, the duo is targeting bitcoin users in India and across the globe.
Though bitcoin community in India is small, it seems to be growing at a fast rate. A recent statistics revealed 70 per cent of the 35,648 Bitcoin downloads in India since the November 2008 laun-ch took place in 2013.
There are already over 50,000 institutions dealing in bitcoins in India now. Investors are now betting on bitcoins who-se value has shot up from $80 to $1,200 in three months. “Care must be taken to avoid the hoarders and the moneylaunderers,” warn experts.
