India crypto exchanges allow bank deposits; FTT token on a roll

Transcript

Welcome to The Daily Forkast, September 2nd, 2021. I’m Angie Lau, Editor-in-Chief of Forkast.News, covering all things blockchain.

India’s stance on crypto has been high on our agenda for a while now, and it looks like there could be a change of heart underway. Some major crypto exchanges are now actually able to offer deposit options with big banking names once again. It’s a huge reversal from what happened earlier this year. We’re going to talk about that and a whole lot more coming up.

So back in May, we saw banks citing an outdated 2018 circular from the Reserve Bank of India to demand clarification on crypto transactions.

Despite the fact that the RBI stated that was no longer valid, most crypto exchanges were left unable to offer deposits via net banking, debit or credit cards as a result.

But now crypto seems back on track in India, with WazirX offering deposits via banks including Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, and Punjab National Bank.

But there’s still tension. Not all the banks are on board. And there’s the pending legislation to ban crypto altogether still waiting in the wings.

Forkast.News Monika Ghosh has this report from India.

The RBI issued a statement in May this year clarifying that its 2018 circular had been struck down by the Supreme Court in March 2020.

But, despite having the authority to do so, the central bank didn’t directly issue instructions to banks, saying they should resume offering services to cryptocurrency businesses.

But some well-known banks are now supporting net banking services and crypto exchanges WazirX and CoinDCX, which turned unicorn on this year, are both now allowing customers to deposit money via net banking from some banks.

During the banking drought, WazirX customers had to use alternate options for making deposits, using either the Mobikwik wallet or the Unified Payment Interface, which is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

However, it’s still just baby steps, some of the biggest names, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and State Bank of India, are not among the options as yet.

So while India’s crypto bill awaits a cabinet nod, the regulatory scene remains muddy.

For Forkast.News, I’m Monika Ghosh, Pune, India.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market has rallied this week, rising over 6.5% for a total market capitalization of US$2.23 trillion US dollars.

Thursday morning Asia time saw the second-largest cryptocurrency, that’s Ethereum, reach its best levels against Bitcoin and the dollar in more than three months.

Ether’s price jumped above US$3,800, despite a day of sideways price action across the broader crypto market.

Forkast.News Lucas Cacioli has the latest on what’s driving its price higher.

Ether’s price has been on a general upward trend since a little before the Ethereum Network’s London hard fork at the beginning of August.

For most of August, however, Ethereum has been moving sideways around the US$3,500 dollar level before making a jump to US$3,800.

And Ben Caselin of AAX Exchange told Forkast.News that could be set to continue with the possibility of Ether hitting US$5,000 in the next couple of months.

Why? Well, Caselin says that for the moment Ethereum rises are to be expected, as it’s still the preferred platform for issuance of stablecoin, NFT and DeFi. But with swift developments from the likes of Solana and Terra, he warns that position should not be taken for granted over the next year or two.

But while the hype of NFT and other innovations that are closely tied to Ethereum and similar platforms continues, those who are not looking to make a quick buck are still accumulating Bitcoin.A case of the tortoise or the hare in terms of investment strategies maybe.

For Forkast.News, I’m Lucas Cacioli

And finally today, Ethereum isn’t the only market winner at the moment. Crypto exchange FTX’s token FTT is also on a roll.

According to Coinmarketcap, it broke its previous high, set back in May before the market crash, and hit US$66.33 Thursday morning Asia time.

The price has jumped 40% since FTX’s acquisition of the crypto derivatives platform LedgerX earlier this week.

It’s not been revealed how much that deal cost FTX, but the exchange says it will allow them to expand its product offerings to include futures and options trading in the U.S.

So could an IPO be next on the cards here? I spoke with FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried earlier this year, for our show Word on the Block, and he told me they’re definitely exploring.

“We’d be crazy not to be like doing due diligence on it, right. Like, we don’t have concrete plans there, but we’re learning what we can and kind of doing our homework.”

And you thought Coinbase’s direct listing was exciting. Stay tuned.

And that’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia. For more, visit Forkast.News. I’m Editor-in-Chief, Angie Lau. Until the next time.