Business
End of the crypto craze? Indian investors wary as mega sell-off continues
As foreign portfolio investors continue to pull out money from the Indian equity market, the sell-off in the crypto market and the digital asset space has also accelerated in the wake of global economic meltdown.
More than $200 billion were wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market this week and the globally crypto market capitalisation fell below $1 trillion for the first time since February 2021, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The already sinking cryptocurrency market in India is also witnessing a huge sell-off as the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies nosedive amid volatile market conditions triggered by factors like high inflation, rising interest rates, the Russia-Ukraine war, and China lockdowns.
According to experts, crypto investors and traders in India are currently exercising caution and a distinct dip in crypto buying has been noticed.
Nischal Shetty, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, said: “Indian investors are cautious and are taking the ‘wait and watch’ approach.”
Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has plunged about 70 per cent since its record high of $69,000 in November last year.
It was hovering around Rs 20,000-Rs 21,000 per coin this week.
According to analysts, Bitcoin may hit a grim $14,000 this year at this rate.
Smaller cryptocurrencies, which tend to move in tandem with Bitcoin, also fell.
Ethererum, the second-largest digital token, fell as much as 12 per cent to $1,045, a new 15-month low.
The current decline means that Ethererum has shed 77 per cent of its value since November 2021.
According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum sell-off resumed this week, with its price risking another 25 per cent decline in June.
However, in such a gloomy scenario, India’s own Gari digital token by short-video making app Chingari has risen about 40 per cent.
Chingari, the fastest-growing Blockchain social app, this week announced the ‘GARI Mining’ programme to empower 4 crore monthly average users (MAU), becoming the first social app in the world to offer crypto to its creators and users on its platform.
“This programme will ensure a level playing field for big and humble creators. Now, creators and users on the app can earn GARI tokens which can be traded on exchanges for money and creators will not be at the mercy of brand collaborations as their only source of income,” said Sumit Ghosh, Co-founder and CEO, Chingari and GARI token.
Meanwhile, the fate of cryptocurrencies in India is still hanging in balance, and the much-awaited crypto bill is yet to see the light of the day.
In April, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated her doubts about the size of the cryptocurrency market worldwide and stressed the need for a regulatory mechanism acceptable to all countries to prevent its use to launder money and fund terrorism, which, she said, were big concerns for India.
India distinguishes between cryptocurrency and crypto assets as a result, and the minister had in February announced a 30 per cent tax on income from these transactions, which includes a 1 per cent deduction at source.
The country is poised to have its own digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next year that will be based on Blockchain technology.
According to Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-founder and CEO, Unocoin, “the cryptocurrencies industry is fast evolving and hence it would need regulations to be constantly updated”.
“It is unlikely to be successful if we just try to bring guidelines for cryptos,” he said.
Not only cryptocurrencies, investors of DeFi (decentralised finance) platforms also need to exercise “caution and scrutiny” amid growing concerns about the liquidity of this certain type of cryptocurrency service, experts have warned.
The warning came as Celsius Network, a DeFi platform and one of the largest crypto lenders, announced that it was “pausing all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts” for its 1.7 million clients.
“The wider crypto ecosystem has been rocked again — not by ‘real’ cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but by DeFi,” said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisories.
“There are legitimate and serious concerns about networks’ high yields, links to failed dollar-pegged stablecoin Terra, and reserves,” said Green, urging people to exercise caution and scrutiny on crypto lending firms which offer clients lucrative double-digit yields on assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Decentralised finance or DeFi offers financial instruments without relying on intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks by using smart contracts on a Blockchain.
Business
Why The Indian Stock Market Struggled: Inflation, FPI Outflows, And Currency Pressure; Everything You Need To Know
The Indian stock market on Wednesday (November 13) wrapped the another challenging day, marking the fifth consecutive session of losses.
The Sensex and Nifty, the two benchmark indices, both ended lower amid concerns over inflation and a broad selloff in metal stocks.
Market Snapshot
By the close of the trading session, Sensex was down by 984.23 points, or 1.25 per cent, ending at 77,690.95. Nifty 50 followed suit, shedding 324.40 points, or 1.36 per cent, to settle at 23,559.05.
The day saw a sea of red on both the Sensex and Nifty, with the majority of stocks ending lower. Among the few gainers were NTPC, Tata Motors, and Infosys, which saw minor upticks on BSE.
However, the broader market was dominated by heavy losses, especially in stocks such as JSW Steel, State Bank of India (SBI), Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and Tata Steel, all of which posted declines.
Reasons behind the sharp decline
One of the major factor contributing to the market’s downward trajectory is the growing concern related to inflation.
As per the data which released by the Ministry of statistics and Programme Implementation regarding the India’ retail inflation, it showed that for the month of October, it surged to 6.21 per cent, breaching the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent for the first time in over a year. The primary factors that contributed to surge include rise food prices, driven by the extended monsoon season and crop damage.
Adding to the pressure is the continued outflow of foreign portfolio investments (FPIs). On November 12, FPIs sold shares worth Rs 364.35 crore, bringing the total outflows for November to Rs 23,911 crore
The Indian rupee also struggled on November 13, weakening by 1 paisa to close at 84.38 against the US dollar.
The rise of the US dollar, which surged 1.8 per cent in November, has been exacerbated by the US presidential election result and higher bond yields. The US 10-year bond yield spiked to 4.42 per cent, further diverting capital away from emerging markets like India.
Business
Trump Victory Revives The Crypto Mania; Bitcoin Touches 81,000 Mark, Other Virtual Currencies Also Surge
The world of cryptocurrency, which was enduring its long-drawn-out winter since the end of the pandemic, appears all set to come out of its ‘haitus’.
And this new surge has been powered by the recent triumph of Donald Trump at the 2024 US election. The president-elect, Donald Trump, who once thought that crypto was a ‘scam’, has come a long way. Donald Trump, by all means, is the most crypto-friendly president that the US has had so far.
Bitcoin
As a result of this newborn optimism, major names in the crypto business. The biggest of them all, Bitcoin, saw the biggest jump. Bitcoin scaled the USD 80,000 mark for the first time.
In the past 5 days, the cryptocurrency has surged in value by 7.76 per cent or USD 5,865.47, taking the overall value to 81,456.88 for one USD. In the Indian context, one Bitcoin is worth Rs 68,72,585.50.
Ethereum
And it is not just Bitcoin that has seen its value gallop. The second biggest name in the crypto world, Ethereum has observed a rise in its price since Trump’s victory. 8.71
In fact, this crypto has seen an even bigger jump of 17.00 per cent or USD 462.66, in the past 5 days, taking the overall value to USD 3,184.54.
Ripple
Another cryptocoin, Ripple, has also seen its prices rise. In the past 5 days alone, the value of this digital currency has jumped to USD 0.59.
This came to pass after an 8.71 per cent USD 0.05 rise in its value.
Dogecoin
The meme coin or a currency that was started as a joke, Dogecoin or ‘Dog Coin’ also saw a gargantuan rise in its prices. Just in the past 5 days, Dogecoin jumped in value by a substantial 49.76 per cent.
The price increased by USD 8.24, taking the overall value to USD 24.80. It is to be noted that Tesla boss Elon Musk, who is a close ally of Donald Trump, is a major proponent of this cryptocurrency.
One of the controversial policies that Trump has advocated throughout his campaign is weakening the US Dollar and loosening any scope of scrutiny on cryptocurrency. In fact, it is even reported that he would ‘fire’ the Security Exchange Commission chair, Gary Gensler. Gensler has been at the forefront of attempts to regulate cryptos.
Business
India Set To Lead The World In 6G, Says Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
In a bold declaration at the inaugural address of the Indian Mobile Congress 2024 (IMC) on Tuesday, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has said that India will lead the world in the adoption of 6G.
In his address at the event, Scindia emphasized that India is now prepared to lead the world in the development of 6G technology.
India’s Technological Rise: From Following to Leading
“It is our belief and commitment that India, which followed the world in 4G and marched with it in 5G, will lead the world in 6G,” Scindia stated.
The minister highlighted India’s remarkable achievements in the telecommunications sector over the last ten years, the country has become a global leader in innovation and technology.
“It’s a fundamental change in approach towards technology development,” he said, attributing this transformation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Telecom Sector Growth Under PM Modi’s Leadership
“Prime Minister who has always put people at the heart of progress Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishvas aur Sabka Prayas combined with his second motto, One Earth, One Family and One Future. It is combination of these two mottos that leads India under PM Narendra Modi leadership one of the leading sectors in the committee of Nations,” Scindia said.
Scindia underscored government’s initiatives to bridge the digital divide, particularly through the BharatNet program, the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity initiative to connect every panchayat of the nation. Over the past three years, the government has invested more than USD 10 billion and laid 7 lakh kilometres of fiber across rural India.
Digital Payments and UPI: Pillars of India’s Digital Economy
He cited staggering growth in mobile and broadband connectivity, with mobile connections rising from 94 million to 1.16 billion, and broadband users growing from 60 million to 924 million in just a decade. India’s optical fibre cable (OFC) networks has expanded from 11 million kilometers to 41 million kilometres over the last ten years, he added.
The minister further said that this growth is accompanied by the success of India’s digital payment systems, the 4G stack, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which serve as pillars of India’s digital economy are expected to contribute significantly to the global digital infrastructure.
Scindia further noted that the government’s efforts to ensure that policy frameworks keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape. “The recent changes to the Telecommunications act 2023 is a case in point. It has been drawing light upon hither to undressed areas such as a high potential sector of satellite communications, addressing the challenges of the digital leader. The most important being cyber security. The telecom sector much like other growth critical sectors in India is aggressive, is ambitioushe said.
“The telecom sector much like other growth critical sectors in India is aggressive, is ambitious and its outlook in our Journey from Amritkal to Shatabdikal is to lead the world,” Scindia said. By mid-next year, India will have achieved 100 per cent saturation of 4G across the entire country, covering even the most remote villages, the minister said.
He emphasised PM Modi’s vision of India as a first mover in 6G technology, underscoring the nation’s resolve to lead the world in future telecom innovations.
“The attitude put forward by the prime minister of not just embracing, but raising ourselves to becoming the first mover in the 6G technology,” he added.
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