Can a Cryptocurrency Wallet Beat PayTM?

Cryptocurrency\’s fever is spreading like wildfire. Out of the total wealth out there (approximately $84 trillion). Bitcoins account for a whopping $41 million. Combined with other altcoins, crypto’s total worth equals $100 million. That shows impressive penetration for a digital asset that’s relatively new. In the Indian subcontinent, crypto is still in an infantile stage. Though only 0.5% of Indians know about Bitcoins, surprisingly Indians accounted for nearly 10% of all global crypto transactions done till May 2017, as per a survey by Quartz. Indians are taking to crypto like fish to water! Cryptocurrency or Paytm wallet? Let\’s have a

It’s a well-accepted fact that a majority of the Indian population is averse to traditional financing and banking practices. The masses still prefer informal monetary transactions, relying on good faith and goodwill. While PayTM and other digital wallets offer convenient and quick money transfer competencies, they do require validation and tie-ups with banks and financial institutions. On the other hand, crypto wallets offer anonymity and transparency to all parties involved. Bitcoin network is a global spreadsheet whose peer-to-peer mechanism is not regulated by any government or individual. It relies on pure mathematical logic and protocols to verify transactions. Bitcoin’s ease of transfer, anonymity, reduced risks and lower transactional fee requirements have given new hopes to the 69% of Indians living in the hinterlands who lack access to traditional banks.
But can a cryptocurrency wallet gain widespread acceptance and awareness among the technologically challenged masses? Can electronic cash pave the way to a cashless economy as envisaged by the current Indian government? Let’s get a well-rounded insight into the matter…

Crypto wallet or PayTM?

Cryptocurrency or PayTM and Tez are digital wallets that are fundamentally different in their mechanism and technology.

BitIndia is India’s first cryptocurrency wallet. The open-source wallet can hold the private keys of all your cryptocurrency and can be used for buying, selling, storing, and transacting digital money securely. Founded by John McAfee (of McAfee anti-virus fame) and his team, BitIndia aims to enroll 20% of the Indian population in the next three years onto its platform.

Paytm is India’s largest m-commerce platform.  Launched in 2010 by One97 Communications, today PayTM has over 280 million registered users. From a bill payment and money transfer channel, PayTM has become a popular virtual marketplace with many reputed brands as partners. The government’s demonetization drive has made PayTM a household name. The same has led to a surge of interest in other cashless payment modes. And this is what can drive crypto’s growth in India.

Challenging PayTM’s popularity will be an uphill task for BitIndia and other crypto wallets. Nonetheless, the duel will be interesting to witness.

Cryptowallets	PayTM
They are used to buy, sell, store, or transfer cryptocurrency.	It is basically a payment gateway and a digital wallet that can hold your currency (INR).
A cryptowallet though owned by individuals or firms, deal with decentralized cryptocurrencies.	This is a centralized exchange for money. It is owned by a single company.
Conflicts and discrepancies in transactions are sorted through a peer-to-peer consensus mechanism.	Transactional conflicts are subject to PayTM’s internal payment processing protocol and procedures.
The technology underlying cryptocurrency is blockchain-based.	PayTM relies on various primitive tech stacks for its functioning.
Cryptowallets are pseudonymous. They don’t require users to reveal their real identities, though regulation is fast catching up on this feature.	PayTM users are required to register and all their transactions are well-documented and verified by partner banks.
The complete ledger of all transactions is entirely public.	PayTM maintains a ledger of transactions within the PayTM ecosystem.
Users are required to pay a nominal percentage of the transaction amount as a transaction fee to the host crypto wallet.	Users are not required to pay anything to PayTM to carry out their transactions.

The Way Forward for Crypto wallets

Efforts by the government and private firms to mainstream Bitcoins are on. Healthcare and finance sectors have a lot to gain from the robust architecture and mechanism of blockchain technology that powers Bitcoins. The more acceptance Bitcoins gain, the more popular crypto wallets will become.

A clear advantage that crypto has over PayTM is the backdrop behind its origin. While Indians were forced to resort to PayTM and cashless means due to demonetization, crypto comes at a time when Indians already have a welcoming mindset towards virtual cash. BitIndia can leverage this advantage to race ahead of PayTM.

Read a review of the best Bitcoin wallets in the market today.

Incorporating cryptocurrency into the fabric of the Indian economy will be a challenge. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum are still considered a vague concept best left to techno-savvy geeks. Little is known about how easy it is to set up a cryptowallet and how efficient and affordable such transactions are. The good news is that the capable team behind BitIndia, spearheaded by John McAfee, has a stronghold over blockchain technology and its applications. They have garnered support from Indian and international governments as well as institutional giants. In 2016, ICICI Bank conducted a complete cross-border transaction using blockchain technology. Even the nation’s premier bank, RBI, has plans to launch a new blockchain platform for its users. The path seems to be well-etched out for crypto wallets!

Want to get a robust solution developed for your business? Are you still perplexed whether cryptocurrency or Paytm, which wallet is reliable for you? For all such queries, get a free consultation from us. Contact us or drop us a line at [email protected]