India takes another step towards cryptocurrency adoption

Do you reside in India and want to take a loan against your cryptocurrency assets? Well, now you can. An Indian bank, United Multistate Credit Co. Operative Society, would be the first one to launch this service across its 34 branches. Together with Cashaa, a crypto-banking service provider, the bank launched a service named UNICAS. This service will be available both online and offline. This move is made amidst the uncertain nature of the cryptocurrency market in India. 

RBI (Reserve Bank of India)’s ban on cryptocurrency banking was nullified by the Supreme Court of India, in March. Despite that, people did not see any move regarding these currencies. Most financial institutions are not sure of cryptocurrency’s true potential; thus, they did not launch such services. UNICAS will allow people to sync cryptocurrency wallets with their bank accounts. People can buy Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies either by using fiat money or these currencies. It also will help people get loans against these assets. 

Why this move? Despite initial inhibition, people are slowly inclining towards cryptocurrencies and their adoption. A spike was reported during the lockdown, reaching between 200% to 400%. However, how people will react to this service is a matter of another day.